Simon Jenkins
Encyclopedia
Sir Simon David Jenkins (born 10 June 1943) is a British newspaper
columnist
and author, and since November 2008 has been chairman of the National Trust
. He currently writes columns for both The Guardian
and London's Evening Standard
, and was previously a commentator for The Times
, which he edited from 1990 to 1992. He was educated at Mill Hill School
and St John's College
, Oxford
.
A former editor of both The Times and the Evening Standard, he received a knighthood for services to journalism
in the 2004 New Year honours
.
He married the American actress Gayle Hunnicutt
in 1978; the couple separated in 2008.
magazine, before joining the Times Educational Supplement
and then editing the Sunday Times Insight
pages. From 1976 to 1978 he was editor of the Evening Standard, before moving to become political editor of the Economist
. He edited The Times from 1990 to 1992, but since then has primarily worked as a columnist.
On 28 January 2005, he announced he was ending his 15-year association with The Times in order to write a book before joining the Guardian as an op-ed contributor, although he retained a column on the Sunday Times until late summer 2008. Since May 2005, he has been a contributing blogger at the Huffington Post. Since 2009, he has also written a column for the Tuesday edition of the London paper the Evening Standard
.
In 1998 he was named as the What the Papers Say
journalist of the year, and in 2004 he received a knighthood for services to journalism. On 14 April 2009, the Guardian newspaper withdrew one of his articles from its website after ANC
leader and current South African president Jacob Zuma
sued the paper for defamation.
In December 2010 he spoke on the Radio 4 Today Programme
about the Shard
, a skyscraper currently under construction in London. For this opinion he was described as a "professional miserabilist" in the Londonist.
1979-1990 and London Transport
1984-86. He was a member of the Millennium Commission
from February 1994 to Dec 2000, and has also sat on the Board of Trustees of the Architecture Foundation. From 1985 to 1990, he was deputy chairman of English Heritage
.
In July 2008, it was announced that he had been chosen as the new chairman of the National Trust
, and took over the post from Sir William Proby in November of that year. Although he had in the past been critical of some aspects of the Trust's work, he described himself as being "very pleased" at the appointment, stating that the Trust was "one of England's great institutions".
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
and author, and since November 2008 has been chairman of the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
. He currently writes columns for both The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and London's Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
, and was previously a commentator for 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...
, which he edited from 1990 to 1992. He was educated at Mill Hill School
Mill Hill School
Mill Hill School, in Mill Hill, London, is a coeducational independent school for boarding and day pupils aged 13–18. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, an organisation of public schools in the United Kingdom....
and St John's College
St John's College, Oxford
__FORCETOC__St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, one of the larger Oxford colleges with approximately 390 undergraduates, 200 postgraduates and over 100 academic staff. It was founded by Sir Thomas White, a merchant, in 1555, whose heart is buried in the chapel 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...
.
A former editor of both The Times and the Evening Standard, he received a knighthood for services to journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
in the 2004 New Year honours
British honours system
The British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals' personal bravery, achievement, or service to the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories...
.
He married the American actress Gayle Hunnicutt
Gayle Hunnicutt
Gayle, Lady Jenkins , known by her birth name Gayle Hunnicutt, is an American actress.-Personal life:Hunnicutt was born in Fort Worth, Texas, the daughter of Colonel Sam Lloyd Hunnicutt and Virginia Hunnicutt, and attended the University of California, Los Angeles. She worked as a fashion model...
in 1978; the couple separated in 2008.
Journalism
After graduating from Oxford, Jenkins worked initially at Country LifeCountry Life (magazine)
Country Life is a British weekly magazine, based in London at 110 Southwark Street, and owned by IPC Media, a Time Warner subsidiary.- Topics :The magazine covers the pleasures and joys of rural life, as well as the concerns of rural people...
magazine, before joining the Times Educational Supplement
Times Educational Supplement
The Times Educational Supplement is a weekly UK publication aimed primarily at school teachers in the UK. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in The Times newspaper. Such was its popularity that in 1914, the supplement became a separate publication selling for 1 penny.The TES...
and then editing the Sunday Times Insight
Insight (Sunday Times)
Insight is an investigative team for the British newspaper The Sunday Times which is well-known for exposing stories such as discovering Soviet defect Kim Philby's role in MI6, investigating the thalidomide controversy,,revealing the secret manufacture of nuclear weapons by Israel. and more...
pages. From 1976 to 1978 he was editor of the Evening Standard, before moving to become political editor of the Economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
. He edited The Times from 1990 to 1992, but since then has primarily worked as a columnist.
On 28 January 2005, he announced he was ending his 15-year association with The Times in order to write a book before joining the Guardian as an op-ed contributor, although he retained a column on the Sunday Times until late summer 2008. Since May 2005, he has been a contributing blogger at the Huffington Post. Since 2009, he has also written a column for the Tuesday edition of the London paper the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
.
In 1998 he was named as the What the Papers Say
What the Papers Say
What The Papers Say is a BBC radio programme that originally ran for many years on British television.Its first incarnation was the second longest-running programme on British television after Panorama...
journalist of the year, and in 2004 he received a knighthood for services to journalism. On 14 April 2009, the Guardian newspaper withdrew one of his articles from its website after ANC
ANC
ANC commonly refers to the African National Congress, a revolutionary movement which became the ruling political party in South Africa in the 1994 election.ANC may also refer to:-Organizations:...
leader and current South African president Jacob Zuma
Jacob Zuma
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is the President of South Africa, elected by parliament following his party's victory in the 2009 general election....
sued the paper for defamation.
In December 2010 he spoke on the Radio 4 Today Programme
Today programme
Today is BBC Radio 4's long-running early morning news and current affairs programme, now broadcast from 6.00 am to 9.00 am Monday to Friday, and 7.00 am to 9.00 am on Saturdays. It is also the most popular programme on Radio 4 and one of the BBC's most popular programmes across its radio networks...
about the Shard
Shard London Bridge
Shard London Bridge is a skyscraper under construction in Southwark, London. When completed in May 2012, it will be the tallest building in the European Union and the 45th-tallest building in the world, standing tall...
, a skyscraper currently under construction in London. For this opinion he was described as a "professional miserabilist" in the Londonist.
Books
Jenkins has written several books on politics, history and architecture, including England's Thousand Best Churches and England's Thousand Best Houses, more recently writing a history of England in which he argues that the British Empire "was a remarkable institution that dismantled itself in good order" and, more generally, that England is "the most remarkable country in European history".Public appointments
He served on the Boards of British RailBritish Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
1979-1990 and London Transport
London Transport
London Transport could refer to:*London Transport Transport authorities that operated services under the brand:*London Passenger Transport Board *London Transport Executive *London Transport Board...
1984-86. He was a member of the Millennium Commission
Millennium Commission
The Millennium Commission in the United Kingdom was set up to aid communities at the end of the 2nd millennium and the start of the 3rd millennium. It used funding raised through the UK National Lottery....
from February 1994 to Dec 2000, and has also sat on the Board of Trustees of the Architecture Foundation. From 1985 to 1990, he was deputy chairman of English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
.
In July 2008, it was announced that he had been chosen as the new chairman of the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
, and took over the post from Sir William Proby in November of that year. Although he had in the past been critical of some aspects of the Trust's work, he described himself as being "very pleased" at the appointment, stating that the Trust was "one of England's great institutions".
Selected works
- Simon Jenkins (1969) Education and Labour's Axe, Bow Pubns., ISBN 0-900182-79-2
- Simon Jenkins (1971) Here to Live: Study of Race Relations in an English Town Runnymede Trust ISBN 0-902397-12-5
- Simon Jenkins (1975) Landlords to London: Story of a Capital and Its Growth Constable, ISBN 0-09-460150-X
- Simon Jenkins (1979) Newspapers: The Power and the Money Faber, ISBN 0-571-11468-7
- Simon Jenkins (1981) Newspapers Through the Looking-glass Manchester Statistical Society, ISBN 0-85336-058-8
- Simon Jenkins and Andrew Graham-YoollAndrew Graham-YoollAndrew Graham-Yooll was born in 1944 in Buenos Aires to a Scottish father and an English mother. He is the author of about twenty books, written in English and Spanish. A State of Fear has become a classic on the years of terror in Argentina. It was first published by Eland Books in...
(1983) Imperial Skirmishes: War And Gunboat Diplomacy In Latin America Diane Publishing, ISBN 0-7567-7468-3 - Simon Jenkins, Anne Sloman (1985) With Respect, Ambassador: Enquiry into the Foreign Office BBC, ISBN 0-563-20329-3
- Simon Jenkins (1986) The Market for Glory: Fleet Street Ownership in the Twentieth Century Faber and Faber, ISBN 0-571-14627-9
- Simon Jenkins and Robert Ilson (1992) "The Times" English Style and Usage Guide Times Books ISBN 0-7230-0396-3
- Simon Jenkins (1993) The Selling of Mary Davies and Other Writings John Murray, ISBN 0-7195-5298-2
- Max HastingsMax HastingsSir Max Hugh Macdonald Hastings, FRSL is a British journalist, editor, historian and author. He is the son of Macdonald Hastings, the noted British journalist and war correspondent and Anne Scott-James, sometime editor of Harper's Bazaar.-Life and career:Hastings was educated at Charterhouse...
and Simon Jenkins (1992) Battle for the Falklands M Joseph, ISBN 0-7181-2578-9 - Simon Jenkins (1994) Against the Grain, John Murray, ISBN 0-7195-5570-1
- Simon Jenkins (1995) Accountable to None: Tory Nationalization of Britain Hamish Hamilton, ISBN 0-241-13591-5
- Simon Jenkins (1999) England's Thousand Best Churches Allen Lane, ISBN 0-7139-9281-6
- Simon Jenkins (2003) England's Thousand Best Houses Allen Lane, ISBN 0-7139-9596-3
- Simon Jenkins (2006) Thatcher & Sons - A Revolution in Three Acts Penguin, ISBN 9780713995954
- Simon Jenkins (2011) A Short History of England Profile Books, ISBN 978-1-846-68461-6