Independent
editor Simon Kelner won most of the awards going last year with his
circulation-boosting tabloid switch -but he has been beaten to the
title of editors’ editor by the Daily Mail’s Paul Dacre. Pollster MORI
asked 30 national, regional and broadcast editors to name the editor
they thought most impressive.
Dacre, Associated Newspapers editor-in-chief, was well ahead of closest rivals Kelner and Alan Rusbridger of The Guardian .
MORI
chairman Professor Robert Worcester said: “Paul Dacre has again
outperformed his rivals and maintained the esteem of his other
colleagues.
Simon Kelner has also made a real impact on his peers
in the past two years. He has become a serious contender in what has
been until now a two-man race between Paul Dacre and Alan Rusbridger.”
Dacre
also took first place in 1998 and 2000, but narrowly lost to Rusbridger
in 2002. Kelner didn’t receive any votes in the last two surveys but
appears to have eaten into Rusbridger’s total this time.
Worcester
said: “Kelner has finally achieved recognition in the MORI study after
six years in post. Editors felt that he has really made a mark, the
pioneering move into the compact format has helped drive this
recognition, as has his move from a newspaper to a ‘viewspaper’. Dacre,
in his current job for 12 years, has uniquely and consistently won the
approval of his colleagues.”
Society of Editors executive
director Bob Satchwell said: “It’s because the Daily Mail is seen as
being the most successful paper over the last decade – Paul Dacre is
very up front and hands on.”
Mori conducted face-to-face interviews in September and October 2004.
The following editors received one vote each: Andy
Coulson (News of the World); Andrew Marr (political editor, BBC News);
Bill Emmott (Economist); Ian Hislop (Private Eye); Robert Thompson
(Times); Richard Wallace (Daily Mirror); Jim Gray (Channel 4 News); and
Dominic Lawson (Sunday Telegraph).
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