In the fast-paced digital age and with the advance of AI, the journalistic basics of accuracy, fact-checking and balance remain paramount – along with the eternal truth that ‘nothing beats a good story’, said recently retired MailOnline executive editor Ian Walker as he received the Journalist Laureate honour at the London Press Club Ball. "The key qualities of print journalism cannot be lost," he stressed.
The annual accolade, which honours excellence in journalism, was awarded to Walker to celebrate a career spanning more than 50 years.
Hosted by the London Press Club in conjunction with sponsorship partners St James’s House (SJH), the Laureate presentation was the highlight of the invitation-only London Press Club Ball held at Grosvenor House in London’s Park Lane, which also raised £25,000 for good causes linked to journalism, last Tuesday.
Presented with a specially inscribed Laureate’s Visconti pen, Walker told more than 500 leading media guests and sponsors: “We are living and working in a particularly challenging time for journalists. More and more stories are being published via digital media. That brings with it relentless pressure to produce more content at an ever-faster pace, but that should not compromise accuracy and fairness.”
Against the growing threat of ‘fake news’, he stressed: “The key qualities of print journalism cannot be lost. Now more than ever the importance of journalistic basics have to be paramount: getting the facts right and wherever possible telling both sides of the story.”
Walker added: “The industry is evolving, as it must to survive, but in the avalanche of data we now have to wade through we must never forget the one thing that always stands out is that nothing beats a good story, well told.
“Now the baton is being passed to a new generation of journalists and it’s up to them to continue finding those great stories, to entertain, educate, inform and hold those in power to account.”
Embarking on his career, after school Walker joined the Ellesmere Port News before progressing to the Wolverhampton Express and Star and the Birmingham Post. He graduated to Fleet Street from 1980 as a reporter for the Daily Mail, followed by senior executive positions at the Daily Express, Sunday Mirror, and Daily Telegraph.
At the London Evening Standard, he advanced from news editor to senior deputy editor. In this capacity, he oversaw the integration of print operations with digital platforms.
Most recently he switched from print to digital to serve for seven years as executive editor of MailOnline, managing global news coverage for a UK and international audience of 24.7million monthly unique visitors. Hanging up his Fleet Street hat this summer, he recently joined Hanover Communications as a senior advisor.
Robert Jobson, co-chair of the London Press Club Ball who worked alongside Walker at the Express and Standard, paid tribute to a ‘brilliant news man of the old school’ who inspired great loyalty from his reporting team: Ian Walker is regarded as one of the finest news men of his generation, with more than 50 years of experience in journalism.
“He always went that extra mile to get the story, to get it right and to get it first.”
Ball co-chair and Daily Mail motoring editor Ray Massey who worked with him at the Mail said: “Ian is a journalist’s journalist and a master of our rumbustious trade.
“A consummate professional, he is always calm and rational but with an unerring and intuitive nose for a good story and a sharp eye for an angle. He will also trust a reporter’s hunch and follow through.’
London Press Club chairman Doug Wills described him as a ‘titan of journalism.”
Reporter and author Shekhar Bhatia, who worked with Walker at Mailonline, the Express, and Standard, said: “He is a modest man. But there isn't a newsman to compare in our era.”
He follows in the footsteps of previous recipients who include: former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre (now editor-in-chief of Associated Newspapers); pioneering woman journalist Eve Pollard (Lady Lloyd); broadcaster Nick Ferrari; Sun royal photographer Arthur Edwards; and last year’s recipient, former The People editor Bill Hagerty, who also attended this year’s event.
Thanks to the generosity of sponsorship partners St James’s House (SJH), the Ball also raised £25,000 for good causes linked to journalism. This was split three ways this year: £10,000 to the Journalists’ Charity (https://journalistscharity.org.uk/); £10,000 to the London Press Club (including £5,000 from Journalist Laureate’s bursary donated at his discretion) to help fund future events and initiatives; and £5,000 to the Guild of Motoring Writers’ Benevolent Fund.
Ball co-chairs Ray Massey and Robert Jobson said: “We’d like to sincerely thank Richard Freed, Craig Vye, Emily Herman and all the team at our partners St James’s House (SJH) for their support and generosity in making the Ball possible and for their £25,000 donation to support good causes linked to journalism.”
Walker attended with his wife Annie who, as Annie Leask, was a Fleet Street reporter and feature writer.
There was also a strong automotive presence, including guests and sponsors linked to the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts’ Club (https://rrec.org.uk/ ) celebrating the launch of their annual yearbook. Journalists from the Guild of Motoring Writers and executives from car firms including Renault, Dacia and rapidly expanding Chinese electric car-maker BYD were also present. VIP transport was generously provided by car firm Genesis Motor Europe.
This year’s celebration marked the 20th London Press Club Ball since the ‘fun and fundraising’ event was revived in 2005, and is the 11th overseen by Ball co-chairs Robert Jobson and Ray Massey, who have so-far say they have helped raise around £250,000 for charitable and good causes linked to journalism in just over a decade.
High profile guests at this year’s London Press Club ball included LBC’s Vanessa Feltz while former Dynasty star Emma Samms also brought some Hollywood glamour to proceedings, attending with her husband, former BBC news presenter Simon McCoy. The couple married in October 2021 – the day after attending that year’s Ball, having kept their impending wedding plans a secret throughout.
Among those adding a regal air to the Ball were ITN royal editor Chris Ship, Sky News royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills, Daily Mail royal editor Rebecca English, and former Buckingham Palace press secretary Ailsa Anderson.
Also attending was the Princess of Wales’s entrepreneur uncle and Celebrity Big Brother contestant Gary Goldsmith and his daughter, Kate’s cousin, Tallulah.
International media attending included: director of the Foreign Press Association Deborah Bonetti; Benedicte Paviot of France 24; and Antonello Guerrera, UK and Ireland correspondent for Italy’s La Repubblica.
A strong Daily Mail contingent included chief reporter Sam Greenhill and Whitehall editor (and Sky News guest newspaper reviewer) Claire Ellicott, investigations editor Tom Kelly and deputy investigations editor Inderdeep Bains.
They were joined by Metro executive editor Richard Hartley-Parkinson, Daily Mirror associate editor and royal editor for ITV’s ‘Lorraine’ Russell Myers, and Daily Express assistant news editor and columnist Mieka Smiles, and former Daily Mail managing editor Charles Garside.
A number of young journalists starting out on their careers attended from the News Associates NCTJ Training Course.
Guests from the world of PR included Charles Lewington OBE. chairman of Hanover Communications and a former political journalist and press secretary to Prime Minister to John Major, as well as Soho Communications director and former Daily Mail political editor James Chapman, who was head of communications at the Treasury under Conservative Chancellor George Osborne.
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