“This is a great honour to take over the executive arm of the Society, but terribly big shoes to step into,” said Ian.
“Bob Satchwell has been a towering force for good in our industry, fighting tenaciously for a free press and broadcast media, freedom of expression and the public’s right to know. He will be a tremendously difficult act to follow and our industry owes him a huge debt of thanks.”
Ian is the former Editor of the Southern Daily Echo and the Editor in Chief of Newsquest’s Hampshire titles. He stepped down from the role in 2017 after 20 years in the position. Alongside editing the Daily Echo, he was also in charge of the weekly News Extra Series in the Southampton region, the New Forest Post, Hampshire Chronicle and the Hampshire Society magazine series. He was the president of the Society of Editors for 2013-2014 and has been a member of the Society since its formation in 1999. He began his media career with Berrows Newspapers in 1979.
Ian formerly sat on the Editors’ Code Committee which oversees the industry’s Code of Practice. He is a member of the Defence, Security and Media Advisory Notice committee (DSMA).
Bob Satchwell started his career in journalism at the Lancashire Evening Post in 1970.
He was Journalist of the Year in the British Press Awards in 1977 then went to work at the heart of Fleet Street as assistant editor for the News of the World. He was editor of the Cambridge Evening News from 1984-98, Press Gazette’s Newspaper of the Year in 1993.
He is an Associate Press Fellow of Wolfson College Cambridge and a former member of the NCTJ board. He has served on a number of government and other committees. He was awarded the Journalists’ Charity Special Award at the National Press Awards for 2012 and an International Writers Award by the International Council of Jurists in 2014 for campaigning on press freedom.
