Podcast veteran, TV presenter, broadcaster, and journalist Jamie East will be taking on a new position as Daily Mail owner DMG Media’s head of podcasts, it has been announced today.
In this new role, which officially starts 8 August, East will be responsible for expanding the Mail’s podcast and digital operations by commissioning new shows and overseeing podcast content strategy. He will report to Mail Newspapers editor Ted Verity and director of publishing strategy Vere Harmsworth.
“Podcasts are a natural extension of what the Mail does best – fabulous storytelling,” said Verity. “I’m hugely looking forward to Jamie helping us exploit the massive potential I’m convinced we have in this area.”
In 2020, East co-founded podcast production company Daft Doris with Liam Thompson after launching hit daily news podcast The Smart 7. Building on the show’s successful seven-minute format, the company launched several extensions of the franchise including The Smart 7: Ireland Edition, The Sweat 7, and The Sporting News 7.
With his new role at DMG Media, East told PodPod he will no longer be hosting or producing The Smart 7 podcast and will instead be handing over the responsibilities to host of The Smart 7: Ireland Edition, Ciara Revins, who will now “have to get up just a tiny bit earlier”.
“I’m delighted to have been given this role, one of the biggest opportunities in podcasting,” said East. “Whilst I’m obviously sad to be handing the Smart 7 baton over after nearly 1,200 episodes, it’s in very safe hands and I've no doubt it will continue to go from strength to strength.”
“Speaking with Ted and the team at DMG, it was clear their infectious passion and ambition for the medium matched my own and I cannot wait to start building an incredible slate and team.”
In addition to creating originals for Daft Doris, East has produced a number of podcasts for clients including The Heat 7 for Bauer Media, as well as shows for others businesses like Samsung, Netflix, and Sky. East is also behind a number of companion podcasts such as DragonCast and The Sound of Succession.
As part of its podcast expansion, DMG Media’s advertising arm Mail Metro Media also recently appointed former Guardian Advertising sales director Guy Edmunds to lead its podcast advertising strategy.
