National Geographic, the 134 year-old media brand now controlled by The Walt Disney Co., has found a new editor in chief.
Veteran journalist Nathan Lump will lead the media company’s editorial efforts beginning next month, Nat Geo said Thursday.
Lump will report to David Miller, executive vp and GM of Nat Geo Media. He was most recently the head of editorial for Expedia Group, and before that was editor in chief of Travel + Leisure magazine. He also was the travel section editor at The New York Times and worked in multiple roles at Condé Nast, among other companies.
A critical part of Lump’s job will be working with Nat Geo’s two owners: Disney and the National Geographic Society, to make sure they are a central part of the media brand’s editorial strategy. For the Society, which still holds a minority stake in the brand after selling to Fox in 2015, that means incorporating its important scientific and educational mission into Nat Geo’s work.
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For Disney, which has owned Nat Geo since it acquired Fox’s stake in 2019, it means extending the reach of the editorial brand across Disney’s global properties. Disney has already made Nat Geo one of the key content offerings within Disney+, and operates the Nat Geo-branded cable channel. It also launched an offer this year that combines a National Geographic print subscription with Disney+.
Lump succeeds Susan Goldberg, who left earlier this year to become a professor and vice dean at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism.
“As a kid growing up in a small town in the Midwest, National Geographic was my most essential read,” Lump said in a statement. “It was a window onto the world for me that sparked my curiosity and encouraged me to get out and make my own explorations, which fundamentally changed my life. I’m humbled to have this incredible opportunity to be a part of the great role Nat Geo plays in inspiring the next generation of scientists and explorers and all those who want to better understand the world — and I hope to continue to strengthen that role through the work that we will do together.”
