By Martin Stabe
Online publishers are struggling to find qualified editorial staff, according to a survey released by the Association of Online Publishers.
The survey says there were editorial vacancies at 31 per cent of AOP members, which includes the digital publishing departments of most major UK newspapers, magazines and broadcasters.
"Whilst we have a huge population of experienced, very talented journalists, there is a definite time lag between the speed with which the medium is developing and the speed with which the expert content creators of the past are moving across and recognising the challenges that they face," said Bill Murray, AOP chairman and managing director of group business information strategy at Haymarket.
The shortage is particularly acute in more senior positions, says Murray: "If I had to recruit two experienced, talented content creators, one for a magazine and one for a website, I’d be very confident that I’d recruit the magazine one a lot faster than I’d recruit the online one.
"There’s a real premium on people who have been working online for a while and who have developed the credentials."
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