They say never go back, but in Simon Kelner’s case, going back meant a new desk and a different phone extension. Having edited the paper for ten years in his first spell, it was hardly unknown territory, as Simon explained. “Being under the same roof meant it was a fairly natural move to return as Editor. My previous tenure was immensely rewarding and once it became clear that I was the right man for the job, it would have taken something cataclysmic for me to say ‘no’”.

That first phase as Editor encapsulated Simon’s pioneering spirit in one key move when in 2003, Simon lead the change to The Independent’s more compact format which was the catalyst for an instant upsurge in sales. Imitation, they say, is the sincerest form of flattery, and if the subsequent move of the broadsheets to similar tabloid formats wasn’t meant to be flattering, it was certainly a fairly large feather in Simon’s cap.

His career in journalism began in modest surrounds at The Neath Guardian in 1976, and from there Simon moved to positions at The Kent Evening Post, The Observer and The Mail on Sunday’s Night and Day Supplement, to name just a few. Simon was appointed Editor of The Independent in 1998, and held the post until 2008. The ensuing two years as Managing Director proved more testing for him. The widely predicted recession was gathering pace and accelerated a number of demanding decisions which fell upon Simon to make, as he acknowledges. “It was a very tough two years and we were faced with some impossible decisions. I shan’t deny it was a struggle, but we are still here and still fighting.

“If I learned anything as Managing Director, I really started to appreciate that, in fact, the best role on a newspaper is the Editor’s. I am expected to make big calls but I can still be creative, a mix which certainly brings out the best in me.”

The paper is certainly making observers take notice and circulation is ‘pleasing’. When The Guardian starts to question why Simon is seemingly experimenting with different cover formats and fonts it’s obvious that the competition is finding the new Editor’s creativity and unpredictability irritating, and that is surely proof enough that he is making an impact.

Quite clearly comfortable back in his seat as Editor, Simon’s second baptism, if indeed that’s possible, wasn’t quite ‘of fire’ but was fairly warm. “I was appointed during the lead up to the General Election following the acquisition of the paper by Alexander Lebedev in late April. But I hit the ground running and it was a hectic time to start back, but, nonetheless, enjoyable.”

The fast moving developments epitomised by the General Election highlighted the powerful role that the internet and, increasingly so, social media are now playing in delivering updates, opinion and, more importantly, providing a platform for measuring the thoughts and decisions of an undecided electorate. Simon admits that trying to keep up to date with the rolling news story was hard work, and actually quite impossible to compete with digital media which could provide up-to-the minute coverage. Even an edition printed at half past four in the morning the day after Britain went to the Polls became out of date as the waking public, and even, by his own admission, Simon himself, headed to the internet or the television set to research what had occurred overnight.

However, when questioned whether events such as the General Election can highlight the shortcomings of newspapers versus digital media, Simon was adamant that newspapers still have a crucial role to play in society. “Without newspapers, where is the comment, where is the analysis, where is the speculation? Newspapers provide a benchmark, they provide a voice of authority. Twitter, Facebook, blogs and forums are great. They are instant. But where’s the structure, where’s the rationale, where’s the thought process?

“They said newspapers would suffer when the radio came along and they said newspapers would die with the internet. I shan’t deny that the internet is having an effect, and it’s making us think about how we run our business in the future. But we can co-exist, we don’t need to hold our hands up and throw in the towel. We all want information, and if you took away information disseminated through newspapers, you would have a huge hole in the delivery of content. It would be horrendously destabilising.”

Attracting the customer in today’s economic climate drives most businesses, and Simon’s creative bent is fundamental to the long term success of The Independent. Preferring to keep his audience guessing rather than sticking to one definite style for his paper’s front cover, Simon likes to experiment and invariably attempts to provide an eclectic mix which catches the eye on the newsstand. He asserts. “I am not one for rules and guidelines. Nothing is off limits ... if it’s interesting, then we’ll go with it.”

Simon likens his role to that of a theatre impresario assembling a cast to entertain. In Simon’s case, his cast comprises a team of journalists who are growing in stature as celebrities, ‘must reads’ for The Independent’s 195,000 readers. “I need to feed our readers with information that they will keep coming back for. If I can convey this information through a team of journalists which attracts its own following, then I have succeeded. The pressure to get that right has always been there, but right now the feeling is that this pressure is greater than ever before because we can see the results of the alternatives so openly every single day.

“People have been writing off newspapers for a very, very long time and it’s still a very vibrant industry. Artists weren’t worried when cameras were invented, cinemas weren’t boarded up when televisions came on the market, and the i-Pod didn’t kill off the music industry.”

Without being drawn on what plans are being made for the future, Simon discloses that management at the paper are exploring new models which they feel will enable the paper to continue to operate profitably. Following on from the move by The London Evening Standard to give the paper away for free (see B4 Issue 14) in anticipation of increased advertising revenues to compensate for lost cover revenue, will The Independent follow suit? Alexander Lebedev is also the owner of The London Evening Standard, and just because the paper is on the verge of profitability after losses quoted as ‘cavernous’, The Independent is not the same beast as The London Evening Standard, and being distributed for free would shatter the incredulity levels which The London Evening Standard reached when it made its ground-breaking announcement to go free towards the end of 2009.

“There will no doubt be modifications. This is most certainly a period of transition for newspapers. The changes we have seen at papers such as The London Evening Standard have proven to be good calls, despite the levels of astonishment these revolutionary moves stimulate. It is an exciting time for newspapers and I most definitely want to be a part of The Independent’s future so that I can be a part of and maybe a catalyst for positive change.”

The Independent are proud sponsors of The Woodstock Literary Festival.

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