My first day in the hot seat as The Independent's editor
'The extraordinary miracle that is a daily newspaper was staring me in the face'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.My journey to The Independent editor’s office entailed a short walk across the office from The Independent on Sunday, which I had been editing since 1996. My office view remained much the same. But there the comparison ended.
Tomorrow’s paper – all those empty pages – screamed to be filled by 6pm, the world outside our windows had to be wrestled into shape, understood, interpreted via the paper’s amazing writers and columnists into tomorrow morning’s news and opinions. The extraordinary miracle that is a daily newspaper was staring me in the face. Into my growing sense of total panic, enter John Lichfield, then our Paris correspondent. He had been offered a cache of photographs of the Lost Prince of the House of Windsor. Were we interested?
If he’d been in the room, I would have kissed him. As it was, I poured my heartfelt thanks down the phone and the story started to take shape. “This is the lost prince of the House of Windsor who, throughout his life, was hidden from the British public for fear he might embarrass the Royal Family. His photograph has never been seen before in a newspaper. His name was Prince John, and he would have been uncle to the present Queen.” It looked amazing. The story was a minor sensation; letters poured in from around the world; Stephen Poliakoff made a film. And that was all on day one.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments