garciamedia

John Duncan

John Duncan has worked in newspapers ever since 1987, when fresh out of college he tried to launch a local paper in London. In 1999 John was appointed managing editor/general manager of the Observer with the paper’s circulation about to slip below the 400,000 copies a week mark.  He rebuilt the newspaper’s editorial strategy, finances and management structure, cutting losses of $20 million a year in half, while launching three monthly magazines within the weekly newspaper around sport, food and music. These products re-established the brand’s reputation for smartness and high-caliber editorial innovation and lifted average monthly circulation to a high of 485,000, at a time when rivals lost over 100,000 sales. John and his team battled advertising recessions, paper price increases and a unionized staff to keep costs in check and hit financial targets every year. His final act at the Observer was the rolling out of a new format of the newspaper, which saw average monthly sales rise above 500,000 for the first time in 12 years. Since 2006 John has been consulting with Garcia Media for newspapers around the world. HIs specialism is PreDesign, auditing a newspaper, website or magazine prior to a redesign to flush out problems which can get in the way of a successful redesign. John makes sure any battles about the strategy or resources of the client are resolved before a redesign begins. John has written a book “In the Red Corner” about the year he spent in Cuba infiltrating the Cuban boxing team on behalf of a professional promoter. He speaks Spanish and is married with one five-year-old daughter.

Global Team

• Dr. Mario R. García
• Mario R. Garcia Jr.
• Rodrigo Fino
• Paula Ripoll
• Reed Reibstein
• Constantin Eberle
• Christian Fortanet
• Jan Kny
• Nai Lee Lum
• Robert Macli
• Frédéric Pla
• Nadine Chahine
• John Duncan
• Joe Zeff
• Toni Lewis
• Ana Barravecchio