Fairfax Media is clearing the path for growth in Brisbane with the promotion of Danielle Cronin editor of its brisbanetimes.com.au website.
The appointment frees Simon Holt - who becomes editor-in-chief - for greater responsibility for growth and strategic opportunities.
Monthly Nielsen Digital Ratings put the site's total digital audience at 1.4 million in March.
Darren Goodsir, who is editor-in-chief of the Sydney Morning Herald and is responsible for the Brisbane, Queensland, site says the promotion reflects the "huge growth" of the digitally-driven newsroom in the past few years and expansion of Holt's role to focus on growth opportunities and realising commercial ventures and partnerships: "His leadership, and connection to Brisbane and the Gold Coast, has pushed Brisbane Times into a leading news position," he says.
Danielle Cronin is moving into a newly-created position, having been deputy editor for almost five years. Previously she had been federal political correspondent at the Canberra Times and held reporting roles there and previously at APN's Bundaberg NewsMail and the Queensland Times.
The newsmedia market in the Queensland capital has been long dominated by News Corp Australia's Courier-Mail, its Quest suburban titles and the national daily The Australian, leaving print newspaper readers with little choice of "voice" - set to be reduced if News is allowed to take over APN News & Media's regional publishing business, currently for sale.
Fairfax upgraded print capacity in Brisbane with a modern Goss Uniman double-width press at its Ormiston print site, where it prints suburban, regional and agricultural titles of its own and contract work including the Saturday Paper... plus work for rival News Corp while it replaces worn-out mailroom equipment at its Murarrie site.
Peter Coleman