Gard Steiro, the 50-year-old editor-in-chief and chief executive of Norwegian newspaper VG, is leaving the role to take charge of Schibsted’s News Media division. He moves into the group job immediately but will stay on at VG until a successor is in place.
Steiro has led VG since January 2017. He first joined the paper as news editor in the summer of 2015 after serving as editor-in-chief of Bergens Tidende, and he leaves after 11 years in the building. Staff were told at an all-hands meeting on Monday, and Steiro will also run the process of recruiting the next head of VG. In a statement he stressed that the move was not a sign of fatigue. Leaving was not, he said, “because I lack motivation or feel finished,” but a chance to use his experience across all of Schibsted’s media.
The division he inherits stretches across two countries. News Media includes VG, Aftenposten, Bergens Tidende, Stavanger Aftenblad, E24, Podme, Aftonbladet, Svenska Dagbladet and Omni. Schibsted’s separate TV Media division, led by Mathias Berg, consists of Sweden’s TV4 and Finland’s MTV. Group chief executive Siv Juvik Tveitnes is handing responsibility for News Media to Steiro while remaining in charge of the wider group. She credited him with turning VG into what she called the Nordic region’s strongest and most innovative digital media destination, and with being a driving voice on how AI and new technology can improve journalism. She said she could not picture anyone “better suited to take our media through the next technological shift.”
Rival editors were quick to praise him. Gunnar Stavrum, the new editor-in-chief of Dagbladet, called him a very skilled editor who combined accessible tabloid coverage with consistently strong journalism. Olav T. Sandnes, responsible editor and group chief executive of TV 2, said Steiro leaves behind a strong VG and has put new technology to real use, adding that his hunch is the next editor will be an internal candidate. NRK director general Vibeke Fürst Haugen described him as a prominent and driving editor and an impressive competitor.
Steiro said his first step in the new job will be to listen to the leaders of every company and function in Schibsted. He singled out the Swedish titles and the Swedish media market as the area he most wants to get to know better. The immediate open question for the group is who will succeed him at VG, a search he will lead himself while continuing to run the paper in the meantime.
