Former Southern Daily Echo editor Ian Murray has been confirmed as the new executive director of the Society of Editors, taking over from Bob Satchwell who has stood down due to ill health.
Murray, who has been deputy executive director since April, said: “This is a great honour to take over the executive arm of the Society, but terribly big shoes to step into.”
Murray praised Satchwell, who has been the group’s director since its foundation in 1999, as 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 said the UK news industry owned him a “huge debt of thanks”.
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Murray stepped down from his role as a daily newspaper editor earlier this year after two decades in the role. He was also formerly editor-in-chief of Newsquest’s Hampshire titles.
Satchwell began his career in journalism at the Lancashire Evening Post in 1970 and went on to work as assistant editor for the News of the World. He was also editor of the Cambridge Evening News for 14 years.
The Society of Editors will be staging its annual conference in Cambridge on November 12/13 on the theme of “fighting for real news”.
The Society of Editors has nearly 400 members, made up of national and regional editors.
Picture: Chris Moorhouse/Newsquest
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