Alan Rusbridger
Encyclopedia
Alan Charles Rusbridger (born 29 December, 1953, Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia
) is the editor
of the British newspaper The Guardian
. He has also been a reporter and a columnist.
, the son of B.E. (née Wickham) and G.H. Rusbridger, the Director of Education of Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia
). He was educated at Cranleigh School
, a boys' independent school
in Cranleigh
, Surrey
, and at Magdalene College, Cambridge
, where he read English.
website. He defended the paper against a number of high-profile defamation suits, including from the Police Federation
and the Conservative MPs, Neil Hamilton
and Jonathan Aitken
. In late 2005 The Guardian responded to the tabloid re-launches of The Times
and The Independent
by moving from a broadsheet
format to the "Berliner" format
, common in the rest of Europe.
He is a member of the board of Guardian News and Media, of the main board of the Guardian Media Group
and of the Scott Trust
, which owns The Guardian and The Observer, of which he is executive editor. Rusbridger received £471,000 in pay and benefits in 2008/9.
He has written three children's books as well as being the co-author (with Ronan Bennett
) of a BBC drama, Fields of Gold.
, and Visiting Professor of History at Queen Mary, University of London
. Since 2004 he has been Chairman of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He is a governor of the Ditchley Foundation
, an organisation which exists to promote international relations.
Rusbridger supports 10:10
, a British climate change campaign for a 10% reduction in carbon emissions in 2010.
- in Islington
. She helped found FILMCLUB
. They have two daughters (born 1983 and May 1986), one of whom was briefly educated at the independent St Paul's Girls' School in London. In 2009 it was reported that one of his daughters, Isabella, had been working at The Guardian, but had been using her mother's surname as a nom de plume to avoid suspicion of having obtained the job through nepotism. His wife is good friends with Tessa Jowell
, whom she knew at the University of Edinburgh
, and he is good friends with her estranged husband, David Mills. They both own cottages near the same Gloucestershire
village. He is Chairman of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He is said to wear a wig.
Rusbridger received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Lincoln
in September 2009 and from the University of Kingston in January 2010.
In 2010 he was chosen to deliver the annual Andrew Olle Media Lecture
in Australia
.
Articles
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
) is the editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
of the British newspaper The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
. He has also been a reporter and a columnist.
Early life
Rusbridger was born in Northern RhodesiaNorthern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
, the son of B.E. (née Wickham) and G.H. Rusbridger, the Director of Education of Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
). He was educated at Cranleigh School
Cranleigh School
Cranleigh School is an independent English boarding school in the village of Cranleigh, Surrey. It was founded in 1865 as a boys' school and started to admit girls in the early 1970s. It is now co-educational. The current headmaster is Guy de W...
, a boys' independent school
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
in Cranleigh
Cranleigh
Cranleigh is a large village, self-proclaimed the largest in England, and is situated 8 miles south east of Godalming in Surrey. It lies to the east of the A281 which links Guildford with Horsham; neighbouring villages include: Ewhurst, Alfold and Hascombe....
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, and at Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
, where he read English.
Career
His first post in journalism was with the Cambridge Evening News. He joined The Guardian as a reporter in 1979 and subsequently wrote the paper's diary column and was a feature writer. He left to become The Observer's TV critic before moving to America to be the Washington editor of the London Daily News. On returning to The Guardian in 1987 he launched the "Weekend" supplement and the paper's "G2" section. As editor from 1995, he oversaw the launch and development of the Guardian UnlimitedGuardian Unlimited
guardian.co.uk, formerly known as Guardian Unlimited, is a British website owned by the Guardian Media Group. Georgina Henry is the editor...
website. He defended the paper against a number of high-profile defamation suits, including from the Police Federation
Police Federation of England and Wales
The Police Federation of England and Wales is the representative body to which all police officers in England and Wales up to and including the rank of Chief Inspector belong. There are 141,000 members as of July 2009...
and the Conservative MPs, Neil Hamilton
Neil Hamilton (politician)
Mostyn Neil Hamilton is a former British barrister, teacher and Conservative MP. Since losing his seat in 1997 and leaving politics, Hamilton and his wife Christine have become media celebrities...
and Jonathan Aitken
Jonathan Aitken
Jonathan William Patrick Aitken is a former Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom, and British government minister. He was convicted of perjury in 1999 and received an 18-month prison sentence, of which he served seven months...
. In late 2005 The Guardian responded to the tabloid re-launches of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
and The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
by moving from a broadsheet
Broadsheet
Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
format to the "Berliner" format
Berliner (format)
Berliner, or "midi", is a newspaper format with pages normally measuring about . The Berliner format is slightly taller and marginally wider than the tabloid/compact format; and is both narrower and shorter than the broadsheet format....
, common in the rest of Europe.
He is a member of the board of Guardian News and Media, of the main board of the Guardian Media Group
Guardian Media Group
Guardian Media Group plc is a company of the United Kingdom owning various mass media operations including The Guardian and The Observer. The Group is owned by the Scott Trust. It was founded as the Manchester Guardian Ltd in 1907 when C. P. Scott bought the Manchester Guardian from the estate of...
and of the Scott Trust
Scott Trust
The Scott Trust Limited is the British company which owns Guardian Media Group and thus The Guardian, The Observer and Auto Trader as well as various local newspapers, Smooth Radio and other radio stations, and various other media businesses in the UK...
, which owns The Guardian and The Observer, of which he is executive editor. Rusbridger received £471,000 in pay and benefits in 2008/9.
He has written three children's books as well as being the co-author (with Ronan Bennett
Ronan Bennett
Ronan Bennett is a Northern Irish novelist and screenwriter. He was raised in a devout Roman Catholic family headed by William H. and Geraldine Bennett at 420 Merville Garden Village in the Whitehouse area of Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland. Since its development in the late-1940s, Merville has...
) of a BBC drama, Fields of Gold.
Other activities
He is visiting Fellow of Nuffield College, OxfordNuffield College, Oxford
Nuffield College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is an all-graduate college and primarily a research establishment, specialising in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. It is a research centre in the social sciences...
, and Visiting Professor of History at Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
. Since 2004 he has been Chairman of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He is a governor of the Ditchley Foundation
Ditchley Foundation
The Ditchley Foundation is a British organisation based at Ditchley House near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, which aims to promote international relations, especially Anglo-American relations, through a programme of around fifteen annual conferences on matters of international interest...
, an organisation which exists to promote international relations.
Rusbridger supports 10:10
10:10
Drono Acharya composed the film's songs and Ritam Sen, Sandip Chakrabarty, Padmanabha Dasgupta, Rana Basu Thakur and Rangeet wrote the lyrics.-External links:* IMDB Title* * *...
, a British climate change campaign for a 10% reduction in carbon emissions in 2010.
Personal life and honours
In 1982, he married the educationalist Lindsay Mackie - who was educated at the private St Leonards SchoolSt Leonards School
St Leonards School, formerly St Leonards School for Girls, is an independent school, founded by the University of St Andrews in the nineteenth century....
- in Islington
London Borough of Islington
The London Borough of Islington is a London borough in Inner London. It was formed in 1965 by merging the former metropolitan boroughs of Islington and Finsbury. The borough contains two Westminster parliamentary constituencies, Islington North and Islington South & Finsbury...
. She helped found FILMCLUB
FILMCLUB
FILMCLUB is an education charity which sets up film clubs in schools and other education and care establishments in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. The scheme is free to all state primary and secondary schools in Wales and England...
. They have two daughters (born 1983 and May 1986), one of whom was briefly educated at the independent St Paul's Girls' School in London. In 2009 it was reported that one of his daughters, Isabella, had been working at The Guardian, but had been using her mother's surname as a nom de plume to avoid suspicion of having obtained the job through nepotism. His wife is good friends with Tessa Jowell
Tessa Jowell
Tessa Jowell is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Dulwich and West Norwood since 1992. Formerly a member of both the Blair and Brown Cabinets, she is currently the Shadow Minister for the Olympics and Shadow Minister for London.-Early life:Tessa Jane...
, whom she knew at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, and he is good friends with her estranged husband, David Mills. They both own cottages near the same Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
village. He is Chairman of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He is said to wear a wig.
Rusbridger received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Lincoln
University of Lincoln
The University of Lincoln is an English university founded in 1992, with origins tracing back to the foundation and association with the Hull School of Art 1861....
in September 2009 and from the University of Kingston in January 2010.
In 2010 he was chosen to deliver the annual Andrew Olle Media Lecture
Andrew Olle Media Lecture
The Andrew Olle Media Lecture was established in 1996 by the presenters and staff at 702 ABC Sydney to honour the memory of ABC Radio broadcaster Andrew Olle, who died in 1995 of a brain tumour.The Andrew Olle Lecturers have been:...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
External links
- Profile and column archive at The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Alan Rusbridger on twitter
- Article archive at Journalisted
- Alan Rusbridger at Puffin BooksPuffin BooksPuffin Books is the children's imprint of British publishers Penguin Books. Since the 1960s it has been the largest publisher of children's books in the UK and much of the English-speaking world.-Early history:...
Articles
- Embracing Change, Frances Stead Sellers, American Journalism ReviewAmerican Journalism ReviewThe American Journalism Review is a U.S. magazine covering topics in journalism. It is published six times a year by the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park. The AJR has been owned since the late 1980s by a foundation of the university...
, October-November 2006 - What happened when the Guardian editor met Piers Morgan, The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, 2 April 2007 - Ombudsmen in the digital future, Alan Rusbridger, Organization of News OmbudsmenOrganization of News OmbudsmenThe Organization of News Ombudsmen is a non-profit organization that was formed in 1980. ONO membership comprises various news ombudsman, and readers' representatives from around the world. Both ombudsman and readers' representatives are individuals who work for a professional news organization,...
, 21 May 2007 - A Chill on 'The Guardian', Alan Rusbridger, The New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of Books is a fortnightly magazine with articles on literature, culture and current affairs. Published in New York City, it takes as its point of departure that the discussion of important books is itself an indispensable literary activity...
, 15 January 2009 - The Ben Bradlee of Phone Hacking , Dylan Byers, AdweekAdweekAdweek is a weekly American advertising trade publication that was first published in 1978....
, 14 July 2011