Gordon Newton
Encyclopedia
Sir Gordon Newton was a journalist and editor of the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....

 for 22 years, from 1950 until 1972. He is generally considered to be one of the most successful British newspaper editors of the post-Second World War era.

Early years

Leslie Gordon Newton (Leslie being his unused Christian name) was the second son of John Newton, a glass merchant, and his wife Edith Sara, née Goode. He attended Blundell's School
Blundell's School
Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school located in the town of Tiverton in the county of Devon, England. The school was founded in 1604 by the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the time, and relocated to its present location on the...

 and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Sidney Sussex College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England.The college was founded in 1596 and named after its foundress, Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex. It was from its inception an avowedly Puritan foundation: some good and godlie moniment for the mainteynance...

, where he read economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...

. After graduating in 1929, he joined the family glass business, only to see it collapse the following year. At his father's suggestion, Newton then purchased a struggling mirror-making firm which he sold in 1933 for a profit, only to lose the money in a company that manufactured automobile parts when his business partner ran off with the firm's money.

Journalism career

Desperately looking for work, in 1935 Newton received a position as a cuttings clerk with the Financial News. Soon he moved into a position as a journalist and enjoyed a series of promotions, becoming the news editor in 1939. He resigned his position not long after his appointment in order to join the Honourable Artillery Company
Honourable Artillery Company
The Honourable Artillery Company was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII. Today it is a Registered Charity whose purpose is to attend to the “better defence of the realm"...

, in which he served throughout the war despite an offer of a position in military intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....

. After the war Newton returned to the Financial News, which had just been acquired by Brendan Bracken. The new owner merged it with the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....

, employing Newton as the paper's features editor and leader writer. During this period, Newton wrote the Lex column for a year, and also traveled to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 to report on negotiations over the devaluation of the pound.

Editorship of the Financial Times

When the editor of the Financial Times, Hargreaves Parkinson
Hargreaves Parkinson
Hargreaves Parkinson was editor of the Financial Times from 1945 until 1950. He was educated at Blackpool Grammar School and King's College London...

, retired due to a terminal illness in 1950, Brendan passed over the expected successor, Harold Wincott
Harold Wincott
Harold Wincott CBE was a British economist and journalist.Wincott edited the Investors Chronicle for twenty-one years and was a columnist for the Financial Times. He was awarded a CBE in 1963 and wrote pamphlets for the Institute of Economic Affairs, a free-market think-tank...

 in favor of Newton. The choice proved a great success. Granted a free hand by the paper's owners, he strengthened its coverage of financial, business, and political news while broadening it to include areas such as the arts. Eschewing journalists with previous experience in the profession, he hired graduates straight from the universities of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

 and Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

, giving a start to the careers of writers such as Patrick Hutber (of Hutber's law
Hutber's law
Hutber's law states that "improvement means deterioration". It is founded on the cynical observation that a stated improvement actually hides a deterioration.The term has seen wide application in business, engineering, and risk analysis...

), William Rees-Mogg
William Rees-Mogg
William Rees-Mogg, Baron Rees-Mogg is an English journalist and life peer.-Education:Rees-Mogg was educated at Clifton College Preparatory School in Bristol and Charterhouse School in Godalming, followed by Balliol College, Oxford...

, Christopher Tugendhat and Nigel Lawson
Nigel Lawson
Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby, PC , is a British Conservative politician and journalist. He was a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Blaby from 1974–92, and served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the government of Margaret Thatcher from June 1983 to October 1989...

.

Newton's decisions contributed to the success of the newspaper. Sales trebled during his years as editor, as Newton transformed the Financial Times from a trade publication into an internationally respected newspaper. He received a knighthood in 1967, and served as a director of the paper between 1967 and 1972.

Later years

Newton voluntarily stepped down from his responsibilities with the Financial Times in 1972 after reaching the age of 65. He took up a chairmanship of a financial company that collapsed amidst the secondary banking crisis of 1973–1975
Secondary banking crisis of 1973–1975
The Secondary Banking Crisis of 1973–75 was a dramatic crash in property prices in Great Britain which caused dozens of small lending banks to be threatened with bankruptcy.-Crisis:...

, but subsequently served with greater success on other boards. He lived quietly in Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead...

, where he indulged his passion for fly fishing
Fly fishing
Fly fishing is an angling method in which an artificial 'fly' is used to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. Casting a nearly weightless fly or 'lure' requires casting techniques significantly different from other forms of casting...

, until his death from cerebrovascular disease
Cerebrovascular disease
Cerebrovascular disease is a group of brain dysfunctions related to disease of the blood vessels supplying the brain. Hypertension is the most important cause; it damages the blood vessel lining, endothelium, exposing the underlying collagen where platelets aggregate to initiate a repairing process...

 in 1998.

Further reading

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