Dexter Smith has been appointed the new Editor of The Royal Gazette.

The 54-year-old Bermudian will succeed Editorial Consultant Tim Hodgson, who has held the post as an interim editor for the past two years.

Bermuda Press (Holdings) Limited, owners of The Royal Gazette, announced that Mr Smith, currently the paper’s Acting News Editor, will take over the position on July 1, 2015.

Mr Hodgson will remain with The Royal Gazette in a new position developing content for the company’s range of print and digital products. Mr Smith, who first joined the newspaper as a sports reporter in 1982, is a veteran journalist and editor with more than 33 years experience in Bermuda and the United Kingdom.

A former Sports Editor of both The Royal Gazette and the Mid-Ocean News, he spent 12 years working as a sports sub-editor on The Times and The Sunday Times in London, England before returning to Bermuda in December 2013 to take up the position of Deputy Editor, Head of Sport.

Stephen Thomson, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bermuda Press (Holdings) Limited, said: “As a board, we are delighted that Dexter has accepted the position as Editor with The Royal Gazette. It is particularly gratifying when a talented Bermudian is repatriated back to our Island in his given field with years of excellent international experience under his belt.

“Dexter’s 12 years at The Times will undoubtedly hold him in good stead managing the editorial department of Bermuda’s only daily newspaper. We look forward to incorporating Dexter’s new and innovative ideas within our organisation as we rapidly move The Royal Gazette into the next digital age of news.”

Mr Thomson also thanked Mr Hodgson for his contribution to The Royal Gazette as interim editor.

He said: “Over the past two years, Tim Hodgson has worked tirelessly in the capacity of consultant editor at The Royal Gazette. His long history and editorial knowledge with our organisation has been a significant asset during this time of amalgamation and change.

“Tim will be assuming a new and challenging position outside of the core editorial team and will be leading the development of content for various print and digital products. We are pleased that Tim has accepted this new position and will continue to be part of our future moving forward.”

Mr Smith said he was honoured by the appointment and excited by the challenge of leading the newspaper during a time of unprecedented technological and economic change within the industry.

“One of my biggest challenges is to change the culture of the Gazette to a degree,” he said. “We now operate in a 24-hour news cycle and the platforms we’re going to be giving to the public will be varied and many.

“It is essential that digital and print work together. You cannot sit back and expect people to wait for tomorrow’s newspaper all the time. Personally, I love to sit down with a big read but not everyone is like that. Some folks just like to get on their phone, read one or two paragraphs and move on to the next thing. We need to be in a position to give them that.”

•Meet the new Editor — see interview on Monday.