Yachting Names Mary South Editor-in-Chief

Bonnier has announced the promotion of Mary South to editor-in-chief of Yachting. South was the marine brand’s deputy editor.

South joined Yachting in 2007 and has been integral to the brand’s success as it expanded beyond its well-respected magazine presence and onto new media platforms under Bonnier’s lauded corporate-led digital initiatives.

“As deputy editor, Mary drove quality improvement, market share growth and digital innovation,” said David Ritchie, director of editorial operations for Bonnier’s marine titles. “She has the respect of her team and her audience, and I look forward to watching this brand thrive under her leadership.”

South’s multichannel approach is seen across many Yachting platforms. The brand has content applications and relevance across print and digital platforms, with tie-ins to Facebook and Internet forums, as well as Web-enriched “extras” including video, polls and links to other relevant content.

“I’m excited to take the helm at the nation’s finest and most prestigious publication for passionate yachtsmen, where we will, of course, continue to produce a print product that entertains, informs and inspires our readers month after month. A large focus of our efforts going forward will be expanding our reach across digital platforms so that our audience has access to the same high caliber of content on their computers, mobile phones and tablets, as well as a rich engagement with the Yachting community through social media.”

South joined the magazine as senior editor and was promoted to deputy editor last year. She is an accomplished writer whose byline has appeared in many national publications and monthly for the last four years in the pages of Yachting, where she has written about rounding Cape Horn, exploring the Amazon, sailing the Inner Hebrides and countless other boating topics. HarperCollins published South’s nautical memoir The Cure for Anything Is Salt Water in hardcover in 2007 and in paperback in 2008. South previously spent many years in the book publishing industry, working for Rodale, Riverhead Books, Little Brown, Ballantine and Houghton Mifflin. A graduate of Chapman School of Seamanship’s Professional Mariner Training, South lives aboard her 40-foot steel trawler in Newport each summer.