News Corp plots future of tabloid chief

July 31, 2026 — 5:00am

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In this week’s On Background, News Corp eyes a bigger job for one of its tabloid chiefs, a former ABC executive lands a role with a billionaire scion, and Four Corners lurches from scandal to snafu.

After two years of relative stability in News Corp’s Australian ranks, it was only a matter of time before the company’s Holt Street headquarters started to chatter about a leadership shake-up.

Now, all eyes are looking to Ben English, and what the future might hold for the man after eight years running Sydney tabloid The Daily Telegraph.

English is currently the most senior editor in its stable of tabloids, having taken on most of the national reporting lines that previously belonged to Peter Blunden, a 50-year veteran editor of the company, in a 2024 restructure.

In 2026, English upped his workload even further, posting daily videos walking around his neighbourhood outlining the thinking behind the day’s front page. Editor and vertical video influencer: it’s quite a combo.

While there are no concrete plans for English to change jobs, high-level conversations are happening about what shape a promotion might look like for him. Taking responsibility for the finances of a division of News Corp is a likely next step for someone who has so far been purely on the editorial side, said senior sources with knowledge of the discussions. That may well be in Australia, or he could follow former weekend Herald Sun editor Nick Papps over to the United States, where the latter now runs News Corp’s California Post.

Should English’s future lie elsewhere, the name rumoured to be the front runner to take his seat is Gemma Jones. She’s got quite the resume. For........

© The Sydney Morning Herald