Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. News
August 24, 2016

Jim Wilson to step down as editor of Sunday Mail in Scotland

By Freddy Mayhew

One of Scotland’s longest-serving editors is taking voluntary redundancy.

Jim Wilson, who has edited the Sunday Mail for seven years, will leave at the end of the month.

He has worked at the Mail, Scotland’s best-selling Sunday newspaper (178,595 copies – ABC), since 2000.

Wilson, who is also chairman of the Scottish Newspaper Society’s editors’ committee, said: “I have been very lucky to work with so many great journalists on such a great newspaper.”

The Trinity-owned title has been commended for its campaigning journalism under Wilson’s editorship and has won a number of awards.

It was named Scottish Newspaper of the Year in 2014, with judges hailing the paper’s “outstanding investigations, strong human interest and serious content”.

Last year, after the Mail revealed a forgotten suspect for the murder of Emma Caldwell in 2005, Police Scotland mounted an illegal operation to find their sources.

The Crown Office ordered the reopening of the murder investigation weeks after the Mail’s reports. The inquiry is ongoing, as is an independent inquiry into the force’s molehunt.

In May, Wilson told Press Gazette: “The protection of sources is fundamental to a free press but, most importantly, the police should have been more concerned with the content of our stories than the sources.

“After all these years Emma Caldwell and her family still deserve justice. They should have been the priority for the police not us.”

A Trinity Mirror spokesperson said: “We can confirm Jim is stepping down as Editor of the Sunday Mail, with effect from 4 September.

“Jim’s fearless, campaigning journalism saw the Mail win Newspaper of the Year in 2014. We wish him every success in his future career.”

Wilson, who worked at a number of newspapers including the Scotsman and Daily Record before joining the Mail, is understood to be considering a number of options, including a move into public affairs.

Topics in this article :

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Websites in our network