Disney's National Geographic announced that they have hired Nathan Lump as Editor in Chief, according to Hollywood Reporter.
What's Happening:
- National Geographic has been around for 134 years and is now controlled by the Walt Disney Company.
- They have announced that they will have a new editor-in-chief, Nathan Lump.
- Lump is a veteran journalist and will lead the media company's editorial efforts beginning next month.
- He will report to David Miller, executive VP and GM of Nat Geo Media.
- Most recently, he was head of editorial for Expedia Group, and before that, he was editor in chief of Travel + Leisure magazine.
- He was also the travel section editor at the New York Times and worked in multiple roles at Condé Nast, among other companies.
- A large part of Lump’s new position will be working with Nat Geo's two owners.
- Together, Disney and the National Geographic Society make sure they are a major part of the media brand’s editorial strategy.
- The society still holds a major stake in the brand after selling it to Fox in 2015. This incorporates important scientific and educational content that goes into Nat Geo’s work.
- Disney has owned Nat Geo since 2019 when it acquired Fox stake, which means it extends the reach of the editorial brand across Disney global properties.
- Disney has made it one of its key content offerings with Disney+ as well as the Nat Geo-branded cable channel. There is an offer which combines the National Geographic print subscription with Disney+ as well.
- Lump will be taking the position of Susan Goldberg, who left earlier in the year to become professor and dean of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism.
- “As a kid growing up in a small town in the Midwest, National Geographic was my most essential read,” Lump said in a statement. “It was a window onto the world for me that sparked my curiosity and encouraged me to get out and make my own explorations, which fundamentally changed my life. I’m humbled to have this incredible opportunity to be a part of the great role Nat Geo plays in inspiring the next generation of scientists and explorers and all those who want to better understand the world — and I hope to continue to strengthen that role through the work that we will do together.”