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James Franklin Archibald "Archie" Bland (born 7 October 1983), is a British newspaper journalist who writes the Guardian's daily morning newsletter First Edition. Bland was previously the deputy editor of ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', a national British newspaper, a post to which he was appointed in April 2012, at the age of 28. He was also the editor of the Saturday edition of ''The Independent''. He was one of the youngest people to have ever been appointed to a senior editorial post in the British national newspaper industry, described as "easily the youngest deputy editor in the paper's history, the youngest in national newspapers today and perhaps ever on
Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...
".


Early life

Bland was born in 1983, the only child of Sir Christopher Bland, the former chairman of the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
's
Board of Governors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulations ...
(the forerunner of the BBC Trust), British Telecom, the
Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...
,
London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT; now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV (TV network), ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00&nbs ...
and a number of other companies, as well as Deputy Chairman of the former
Independent Broadcasting Authority The Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television ( ITV and Channel 4 and limited satellite television regulation – cable television was the responsibility of the Cable Author ...
, and Lady Bland (née Jennifer Mary Denise May),''The Peerage''
/ref> the daughter of William May, a former Northern Irish Minister for Education. Bland is the half-brother of four siblings, through his mother's earlier marriage to Thomas Edmund Byng, the 8th
Earl of Strafford Earl of Strafford is a title that has been created three times in English and British history. The first creation was in the Peerage of England in January 1640 for Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, the 1st Viscount Wentworth, the clo ...
, among whom are the author
Georgia Byng Lady Georgia Mary Caroline Byng (born 6 September 1965) is a British children's writer, educator, illustrator, actress and film producer. Since 1995, she has published thirteen children's books, and co-written and co-produced one film. Byng has ...
and
Jamie Byng James Edmund Byng (born 27 June 1969) is a British publisher. He works for the independent publishing firm Canongate Books, where he is the CEO and publisher. Early life Byng grew up in the village of Abbots Worthy in Hampshire, England. T ...
, the owner of publishing house
Canongate Books Canongate Books (trading as Canongate) is an independent publishing firm based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is named after the Canongate area of the city. It is most recognised for publishing the Booker Prize winning novel '' Life of Pi'' (2001 ...
.


Education

Between the years 1997–2002,''The Trusty Servant'' (No.98) Page 12: ''Old Wykehamist News'' (first entry on p.12)
Published by: Wykehamist Society of Winchester College. Date: November 2004. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
Bland was educated at
Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...
, a boarding independent school for boys in
Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
in Hampshire, where he stayed at Boarding House I, known as Turner's (and informally as Hopper's). At Winchester, Bland received high marks, followed by
Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mo ...
, at which he became the editor of '' Varsity'', the student newspaper of the university. He was named Guardian Student Columnist of the Year in 2004 (part of the Guardian Student Media Award), for his work as ''Varsitys editor, and elected to a ''Senior Exhibition'' in the years 2004 – 2005, gaining a First in
English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...
(BA). He received the Fulbright Alistair Cooke Award in Journalism (part of the
Fulbright Program The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...
) for 2006–7, a scholarship which enabled him to study at the
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism sch ...
in New York City, from which he received a master's degree in journalism in 2007. He graduated from Columbia with honors, receiving the school's Henry N. Taylor Award.


Life and career

Bland joined ''The Independent on Sunday'' newspaper in 2007 as a graphics researcher. In October 2010 he became Foreign Editor, replacing Katherine Butler, and Deputy Editor of the paper in April 2012. He was a regular columnist in the ''Independent'', and a contributor to the ''
Columbia Journalism Review The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (''CJR'') is a biannual magazine for professional journalists that has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961. Its original purpose was "to assess the performance ...
''. In July 2013, Bland took up a new role as senior writer at both ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' and ''
The Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...
'' newspapers, and in September 2014, he joined ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' newspaper. He later became Deputy National Editor of ''The Guardian'' before taking up his role writing the newsletter. Bland won the last-ever episode of the BBC television game show ''
The Weakest Link ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which The Weakest Link (British game show), first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host ...
'', in March 2012. He had previously appeared on the programme in 2003, at the age of 19.As Robinson says 'Goodbye', our man Archie wins the last Weakest Link
Source: ''The Independent'' newspaper Date: 2 April 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2012
In 2019, Bland married Canadian journalist Ruth Spencer.


References


External links


Archie Bland
at ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
''
Column archives
at
Journalisted The Media Standards Trust is a British media think tank formed in 2006. It carries out research on issues in the media sector. It also advocates for press freedom as well as industry quality, transparency and accountability. It is a registered cha ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bland, Archie 1983 births Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge British newspaper editors Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni English male journalists Living people People educated at Winchester College The Guardian journalists The Guardian people The Independent people