EDITOR NUMBER THREE JOINS MEDIA HOUSE INTERNATIONAL

Former award-winning newspaper editor John McLellan has joined one of Scotland’s most successful public relations companies as a Senior Consultant.

Media House International now has three former editors in senior roles.

John McLellan’s career spans 40 years, in which time he was an editor for 15 years and then Director of Communications for the Scottish Conservative Party during Ruth Davidson’s leadership.

He is currently the director of Newsbrands Scotland, the trade association for Scottish news publishers and writes weekly columns for The Scotsman and Edinburgh Evening News. He is a member of the Defence, Security and Media Advisory Committee, and the Advertising Standards Authority’s Code of Advertising Practice Committee. He also teaches journalism as an honorary professor at the University of Stirling, from where he graduated with a BA in English Studies in 1983.

John is a former Editor-in-Chief of Scotsman Publications, editing The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday, and twice serving as editor of the Edinburgh Evening News. He has also served as a City of Edinburgh councillor for the Scottish Conservatives, and as a member of the Press Complaints Commission. His main recreation is watching rugby and as a member of the Watsonian Football Club, hung up his boots at the ripe old age of 50.

Media House International was founded in 1991 by Jack Irvine who entered journalism as a Glasgow Herald trainee, worked as a news reporter in Bournemouth and Poole before joining the Daily Record. He became best known as launch editor of the Scottish Sun and Chief Executive of all the Murdoch titles in Scotland – The Times, Sunday Times, News of the World, Today and The Sun.

Irvine’s deputy is Ramsay Smith who, after starting his career on the Aberdeen Evening Express, had a hugely successful career as a reporter in Fleet Street with the Daily Mirror.  Returning to Scotland, he eventually became editor of the Scottish Daily Mail, and also held senior executive roles at The Scotsman and Sunday Mail.

Irvine said: “Ramsay and I have known John for a very long time, and we are thrilled that somebody with such an in-depth understanding of media and politics is joining the team.

“Luckily there is nobody in the company who can talk to him about rugby or else we’d never get any work done.”

McLellan said, “I’m delighted to be joining Media House at what is a very exciting time for the company, and having known Jack and Ramsay for more years than we dare to count I’m sure it will be lots of fun too.

“And having spent my rugby career in the front row, I’m not sure I know much about the game anyway.”

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