Media Leader: Truss names Michelle Donelan as Culture Sec

Story from Media Leader:

New Prime Minister Liz Truss has named Michelle Donelan as the UK Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

This is Donelan’s second senior Cabinet position after she became the shortest-serving Cabinet member in history through her promotion from Education Minister to Secretary of State for Education for less than two days in July 2022 during the wave of government resignations leading to Boris Johnson’s departure from office.

Donelan has been an MP since 2015 and, according to her LinkedIn profile, she has held previous positions in marketing, including international marketing communications manager at World Wrestling Entertainment, senior marketing executive at Sky, and marketing assistant at Pacific Magazines.

Paul Bainsfair, IPA director general highlighted Donelan is the eleventh Culture Secretary in ten years and has several pressing issues to contend with, including: the planned privatisation of Channel 4, impending HFSS advertising legislation, the Online Harms Bill, the Online Advertising Programme and the Gambling Review White Paper, to name some examples.

He added that the advertising industry “needs the stability” that a long-term holder of the office can provide and thjat it is vital Donelan is “willing to work with our industry to find solutions that will benefit the economy and wider society.”

Bainsfair concluded: “We hope that she will take an active and positive interest in the advertising industry, recognising our importance to UK jobs, culture, and the economy. As the cost of living crisis continues, the new Secretary of State should take note of the great value that we can provide as an employer, a job creator, an exporter and as a partner for the Government. Now is the time to work together, and we will be reaching out in the coming weeks to request a meeting with her.”

Commenting on her appointment, IAB UK’s CEO, Jon Mew added: “Our message to the new Government on behalf of the digital advertising industry is clear: work with us to make sure that legislative changes are necessary, proportionate and genuinely effective.

"Digital advertising is under a high level of regulatory scrutiny and, by working with our members, the Government can ensure that any changes to the current regulation of digital advertising add meaningful value, can be effectively implemented and prioritise the areas most in need of attention.

“Not doing so will have a vast effect on the stability of the businesses that rely on digital channels, particularly small companies that are already facing huge economic uncertainty. Most importantly, blunt legislation could risk the viability of the free-to-use, ad funded web—limiting the ability of each and every one of us to access information and services online for free. By working together, Government and industry can deliver far more for the UK.”

The incumbent minister, Nadine Dorries, had been in the role since September 2022 and resigned on Monday following Truss’s win of the Conservative leadership election.