THE new editor of the Sunday Tribune newspaper is Mr Mati Cooper, the finance and associate editor of the Irish Independent.
Mr Cooper succeeds Mr Peter Murtagh, who resigned in July. The newspaper has been edited since then by the deputy editor, Ms Helen Callanan.
Mr Cooper (30), who takes up his position on Monday, is from Cork and a former reporter and assistant editor of the Sunday Business Post.
He also worked for Business and Finance magazine. He is a commerce graduate of UCC and of the post graduate journalism course in Dublin City University.
Mr Cooper, it is believed, did not apply for the post, but was approached by a member of the board of the Sunday Tribune.
His appointment has been interpreted within the newspaper industry as increasing the influence of Independent Newspapers members on the board, which has a 29.9 per cent share, but is believed to be funding its losses.
The post was never advertised, but it is believed several people indicated their interest. Mr Murtagh, a former news editor of the Guardian newspaper in London and a security correspondent with The Irish Times, resigned after two years.
The reason is believed to be due to lack of finance to promote and market the newspaper.
He had also lost several journalists, including the crime correspondent, Ms Liz Allen, who went to the Sunday Independent to replace Veronica Guerin following her murder.
Mr Cooper said yesterday that he had secured the finance he needed from the board to fund the areas he believed needed strengthening. A priority would be the appointment of new staff, he added.
He said he was resigning from Independent Newspapers and would thereafter have no links with the company.
The staff were told of the appointment at about 3.45 p.m. yesterday by the chairman of the board, Mr Gordon Colleary.
The audited circulation of The Sunday Tribune stands at 79,180 for the period January to June of this year. The figure for the period up to December was 82,569. Last year, the newspaper made losses of £2.36 million.