US Sun managing editor Paul Vale has died aged 50 after being diagnosed with cancer three years ago.
Vale has been described as “the rock” of the US Sun team from its launch in 2020 who will leave a “lasting legacy” in the newsroom.
Vale, who died on 31 August, joined The US Sun as deputy editor in February 2020 before becoming managing editor in 2024.
Sun editor-in-chief Victoria Newton, US Sun editor Gill Smith and Sun EVP and publisher Dominic Carter said in a joint statement: “Paul, affectionately known as PV, was instrumental in the launch of the US Sun back in 2020 – just weeks before Covid – when he joined the team as deputy editor and was integral to its ensuing success.
“Paul was very much the rock of the US Sun team from the outset and he was widely respected for his leadership, generosity and genuine care for those around him.
“His energy and passion for his job were unmatched, even while enduring gruelling treatment.
“Paul took great pride in building a strong team culture and had a remarkable ability to make people feel valued and included.
“He leaves behind a lasting legacy at The US Sun, not only through his editorial contribution, but through the people he supported, the relationships he built and the culture he helped create.
“Paul is survived by his wife Anna and their ten-year-old daughter Juno.”
Vale’s previous roles included US assistant news editor for Mail Online, Europe editor for Vice News and digital news editor for ITV News.
He spent six years at Huffpost, initially as deputy news editor in the UK before moving to New York as night editor then front page editor, and earlier spent seven years at the Express including as technology editor.
‘He championed a new generation of journalists’
Samuel Luckhurst, Manchester United correspondent at The Sun who worked with Vale at Huffpost UK between 2012 to 2014, praised him for his mentorship towards younger journalists.
Luckhurst told Press Gazette: “Paul was an innovative and authoritative journalist with a singular personality who lit up the newsroom whenever he entered it.
“He was impeccable company in a professional and social setting and a masterful man-manager. Huffpost UK had a creative and callow newsroom and he championed a new generation of journalists with his forward thinking.
“It was my privilege to cover London 2012 with Paul and I knew at the time I would struggle to have a better two-and-a-half working weeks in my career.
“Paul was such a wry colleague. I vividly remember when I was introduced to him on my first day in February 2012. He told me how he took his tea and I knew immediately we would get on.
“The world is a little dimmer without him.”
Stephen Hull, head of digital at ITV News, described Vale on Linkedin as “a huge character in the very early days of Huffpost UK when it was a chaotic, hilarious and wonderfully creative place to work”.
He added: “When I became editor in chief he was one of the people who encouraged me to just be myself, enjoy it and throw caution to the wind.”
‘PV’s massive talent was seeing exactly where people could shine’
Frances Mulraney, head of news and exclusives at The US Sun, said: “PV’s reputation preceded him as someone friends would refer to only as the news editor who started every day with a team talk so full-spirited you thought you were about to play the Champions League final.
“I finally got to experience it myself in my first few days in tabloids, completely unaware of the cotton wool Paul had me wrapped in, protecting me from the more grizzly elements of the newsroom – a barrier cruelly ripped away just two weeks later when he moved to The US Sun.
“Luckily for me, PV always made the effort to instantly get to know everyone he worked with, coming back with Nat months later to rescue me from the night-shift trenches, fully convinced we needed to work together again after only ten days previously spent in the same office.
“Rather than slogging it out on bears breaking into cars and the viral Karen of the moment, PV fully threw me in the deep end, leading shifts myself within a few weeks and never looking back.
“He also fully knew how to appeal to all of our competitiveness, publicly calling out in backbench just how much faster rivals were to a breaker than me!
“PV’s massive talent was seeing exactly where people could shine and making sure they got there, whether that was with The US Sun or elsewhere.
“He had much bigger dreams for us all than we could envision for ourselves.
“He also loved a recurring joke, making even the most mortifying Media Thursday moments a thing to laugh over by the time we’d all had our Friday morning group breakfast burritos.
“Most importantly, PV knew his team so well that he could make decisions for you at times when you couldn’t make them for yourself, including wanting to practically walk me onto the plane himself and taking zero excuses to get me home for what would end up being my last proper weekend with my Dad. There’s no way to ever repay him for making sure I had those last hours!
“You will be so missed, Paul.”
Press Gazette will continue to add any tributes to Paul that are sent via charlotte.tobitt@pressgazette.co.uk to this page.
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