Peter John Preston (23 May 1938 – 6 January 2018) was a British journalist and author. He was editor of ''

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 ...

'' for twenty years, from 1975 to 1995.

Early life

Peter Preston was born in Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, the son of John Preston, a greengrocery business manager, and his wife, Kathlyn Preston (née Chell). He grew up in the village of Quorn, two miles south of

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...

. His father died from

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

when Preston was a child, and he subsequently caught the disease; he spent 18 months in and out of hospital, including time in an

iron lung An iron lung is a type of negative pressure ventilator, a medical ventilator, mechanical respirator which encloses most of a person's body and varies the air pressure in the enclosed space to stimulate breathing. It assists breathing when Musc ...

. The disease caused permanent damage to his body. He was educated at

Loughborough Grammar School Loughborough Grammar School is a 10–18 Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boys' school in the town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England, founded in 1495 with money left in the will of Thomas Burton (merchant), Thomas Burton. To ...

and

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

, where he edited the student paper '' Cherwell''.

Career

Preston started his career at the ''

Liverpool Daily Post The ''Liverpool Post'' was a newspaper published by Reach plc, Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The newspaper and its website ceased publication on 19 December 2013. Until 13 January 2012 it was a daily morning newspaper, wi ...

'' in 1959, and joined ''

'' (then the ''Manchester Guardian'') in 1963. He rose to become

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

in 1975 and remained so for more than twenty years, retiring in 1995. He reported on

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

MPs, including the perjurious Jonathan Aitken and the cash-for-questions affair involving Neil Hamilton and Tim Smith. In both instances, a source was

Harrods Harrods is a Listed building, Grade II listed luxury department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It was designed by C. W. Stephens for Charles Digby Harrod, and opened in 1905; it replaced the first store on the ground ...

and Paris Ritz owner Mohammed Al-Fayed. Preston was also editor when ''The Guardian'' was forced to hand over leaked government documents, which were then traced to a Foreign Office copier, leading to Sarah Tisdall, who was subsequently imprisoned under the Official Secrets Act 1911. He continued as a columnist for the rest of his life. He contributed a weekly column to ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'', "Peter Preston on press and broadcasting", devoted mainly to news about newspapers, their readers and (generally) diminishing circulations in the newspaper's "business and media" section. He was one of the founders of the European Press Prize and acted as chairman of its preparatory committee from 2013 until 2017. He had strong opinions on Brexit and the balance of the BBC and continued to take to social media to discuss this after his retirement. He was a member of the Scott Trust (owner of ''The Guardian'' and ''Observer'') from 1979 to 2003, chairman of the International Press Institute from 1995 to 1997, and chairman of the Association of British Press Editors. Preston wrote two novels, ''Bess'' (1999) and ''51st State'' (1998).

Personal life and honours

In 1962, Preston married Jean Burrell, and they had four children. His son, Ben Preston, is a former deputy editor of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' and ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

'', and is executive editor of ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

''. Preston received honorary degrees from the City University, London, and the universities of

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

and

Roehampton Roehampton is an area in southwest London, sharing its SW15 postcode with neighbouring Putney and Kingston Vale, and takes up a far western strip, running north to south, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It contains a number of large counc ...

. Preston died on 6 January 2018 after suffering from

melanoma Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...

Bibliography

* ''Bess'' (Viking, 1999) * ''51st State'' (Viking, 1998)

References

External links

Column archive
at ''

'' *
Hetherington Memorial Lecture, 1999: The Newspaper of the Future
, Peter Preston,

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals; ) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airth ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, Peter 1938 births 2018 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Oxford British male journalists British newspaper editors Deaths from cancer in England Deaths from melanoma in the United Kingdom Fellows of St John's College, Oxford The Guardian journalists People educated at Loughborough Grammar School People from Barrow upon Soar People from Quorn, Leicestershire Preston family Polio survivors Writers from Leicestershire