Liz McMahon has been promoted to senior reporter at Insurance Age. Liz joined the magazine in July last year and her new remit includes expanding the magazine’s use of social media and extending its coverage of issues such as health and technology.

The Financial Times will launch a new section in September designed to help business managers, executives and non-IT professionals understand, buy and use technology to improve the performance of their operations. The section will be overseen and edited by Paul Taylor, currently the FT’s technology correspondent and columnist based in New York. It will appear online under the FT.com management section and as a monthly special report that will build on the coverage contained in the current Digital Business report.

From 1 August Sue Copeman, editor of StrategicRISK, will relinquish her current role to be promoted to editor-in-chief. At the same time, associate editor Nathan Skinner will be promoted to editor. In her new role, Sue will continue to work closely with Nathan to extend the brand into new markets and regions. Nathan will assume editorial responsibility for StrategicRISK and its brand extensions including CaptiveRISK which was launched in July.

President Obama’s firing of General Stanley McChrystal has highlighted the uncertainties of ‘off the record’ press briefings. With debate raging between McChrystal’s team and Rolling Stone over the ground rules agreed for the interview, the episode has shown the potential dangers of one of the least-understood practices in media relations. What does ‘off the record’ mean, how does it work in practice, and are the risks ever worth taking? We help guide you through the minefield. (more…)

From 1 July, Josh Spero will be editor of the wealth management, business and cultural quarterly, Spear’s magazine. He is currently senior editor of the magazine and website editor of Spearswms.com. William Cash remains editor-in-chief.