We're Keeping Graham: He's Our New Managing Editor

Well this is some very splendid news. You very likely have noticed that Mr Graham Smith has been writing all over RPS for the last few months. You may well have been squeegeeing your eyes and asking, "What? THE Graham Smith?! From off of PC Gamer?!" Yes indeed, THE Graham Smith. We're very excited to announce today that he has been appointed as RPS's Managing Editor. Say hello to Graham!

It's genuinely a thrill to have Graham join us. He's been a writer we've admired since his first appearances in PC Gamer, where he joined as their lowly Disc Editor. From there he rose to the ranks of Editor faster than anyone before him, and saw the paper magazine turn around its declining fortunes, re-inspiring it with a freshness and indie-friendliness that we at RPS could only applaud. He also oversaw the continued malevolent growth of their RPS fansite, PCGamer.com.

So we've nicked him.

Graham is a double-whammy, making him the perfect choice for Managing Editor, whatever that actually is. He's not only a proficient and proven successful editor, but also a really fantastic writer. No matter the strength of the former, we'd never have picked anyone without the latter. The tragedy of being editor of any magazine is it dramatically reduces the amount of writing you get to do - you're far too busy slamming down phones on PRs and shouting at the utter lunatics in ads departments. We're delighted to say that Graham's position on RPS will ensure that he's tippity-tappitting articles as much as he's yelling at naughty freelancers about his plans to carve off their thighs.

So hooray! The lovely Graham is now part of the RPS squadron! Here's the press release we wrote about it:

Rock, Paper, Shotgun Appoints Former PC Gamer Editor Graham Smith As Managing Editor

EARTH – January 16, 2014 – Rock, Paper, Shotgun, the planet’s best PC gaming site, today announces the appointment of Graham Smith as its Managing Editor.

Graham Smith, formerly editor of PC Gamer, is joining RPS to head up a new initiative: to see whether it’s possible to combine their world-renowned PC games journalism with something he calls “organisation”. With this, he claims, the site will only further improve the quality of its coverage.

"I'm thrilled to be joining RPS,” says Smith. “I've long admired the work the site has been doing in producing funny and critical writing about PC games, and it's going to be a pleasure to help them manage and grow the site in the years to come. It's also going to be an exciting challenge to stop referring to the website as 'the enemy'."

Rock, Paper, Shotgun was launched in 2007 by Kieron Gillen, Jim Rossignol, Alec Meer and John Walker. Since then it has gone on to become one of the leading voices in games journalism, pioneering great writing and unhindered opinion. Independently owned, and always operated without external investment, it provides an independent, distinctive voice in the milieu, free of corporate interference or shareholder collywobbling.

With additional full time writers Nathan Grayson and Adam Smith, and an array of the best freelancers in the business, RPS is enormously enjoyed and respected by both gamers and the gaming industry.

“Graham has always been passionate about two crucial things: great writing and PC games,” says RPS co-director John Walker. “His time at the helm of PC Gamer saw it recapture much of its glory days, with a new emphasis on indie games and fun, and we’re completely thrilled to have him continue that at RPS. Plus, he does things like make Google Spreadsheets and have us remember to look at them. It’s weird, but it seems to help.”