Dacre announced he was stepping aside as Editor this year after 26-years at the helm of the Daily Mail. During his editorship, circulation rose by almost a million at its height and the Mail became a great campaigning paper with a uniquely powerful voice in British life, says the Society.
Lord Rothermere, the chairman of the Daily Mail's parent company DMGT, has acclaimed Dacre, who launched both Metro and Mail Online, as "the greatest Fleet Street editor of his generation".
Dacre who steps down as editor in November to become Editor-in-Chief and Chairman of Associated Newspapers has also been one of the industry's most passionate and fearless defenders of press freedom.
Previous lecturers have included Ben Bradlee, Editor of the Washington Post during Watergate, Lord Patten when he was chairman of the BBC, Alexander Lebedev, proprietor of the Independent and London Evening Standard, Alan Rusbridger, former Editor of The Guardian and Sir Alan Moses, chairman of the Independent Press Standards Organisation.
Society of Editors Executive Director Ian Murray said it was a tremendous coup that Dacre had accepted an invitation to deliver the prestigious Society Lecture on November 4: "Whatever your politics, there is no denying that the Daily Mail has been a power in the land under his editorship: always impactful, often controversial, never timid and tremendously effective. We could not ask for a better start to what I am certain will once again be a tremendous conference."
The Society of Editors Conference takes place at the Lowry Hotel in Manchester on Sunday November 4 and Monday November 5.
The theme will be 'The Trust Factor - And How to Fund It’.
The conference will start with the President's Reception and Society Lecture followed by an evening networking buffet on Sunday, November 4 at the Lowry Hotel.
The full-day conference takes place the following day, again at the Lowry Hotel.
"I can think of no more fitting place to stage this year's conference than the vibrant city of Manchester which continues to be a focal point for the regeneration of not just the proud city itself but the region as a whole," added Murray.
