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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| 'Why should newspapers not be accountable?' | 'Why should newspapers not be accountable?' |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| To mark the 20th anniversary of the Guardian readers’ editor role, the incumbent asked his three predecessors to recall their time in the post. Ian Mayes was the first | |
| Sun 22 Oct 2017 16.54 BST | |
| Last modified on Mon 27 Nov 2017 15.04 GMT | |
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| I became the Guardian’s, and the UK’s, first readers’ editor, or resident ombudsman, on 5 November – fireworks night – 1997. | I became the Guardian’s, and the UK’s, first readers’ editor, or resident ombudsman, on 5 November – fireworks night – 1997. |
| There had been attempts at various forms of self-regulation in the past but nothing quite like this. | There had been attempts at various forms of self-regulation in the past but nothing quite like this. |
| The first British newspaper to appoint anyone actually called an ombudsman was the Daily Mirror in the mid-1980s, during the ownership of Robert Maxwell, which perhaps explains why very little was heard of him. | The first British newspaper to appoint anyone actually called an ombudsman was the Daily Mirror in the mid-1980s, during the ownership of Robert Maxwell, which perhaps explains why very little was heard of him. |
| The Guardian, under Peter Preston, made more convincing efforts, having at one time an ombudsman appointed from the paper’s senior staff, and at another, an ombudsman from elsewhere in the industry. | The Guardian, under Peter Preston, made more convincing efforts, having at one time an ombudsman appointed from the paper’s senior staff, and at another, an ombudsman from elsewhere in the industry. |
| Ombudsmen, whatever the official title they were given, tended to be appointed by British newspapers when the industry was galvanised by the threat of restrictive legislation, enabling papers to claim that the real issue was the freedom of the press (never mind that such threats were often brought about by their own excesses). | Ombudsmen, whatever the official title they were given, tended to be appointed by British newspapers when the industry was galvanised by the threat of restrictive legislation, enabling papers to claim that the real issue was the freedom of the press (never mind that such threats were often brought about by their own excesses). |
| It was Maxwell who unwittingly initiated the chain of events that radically changed the Guardian’s approach. He had employed Alan Rusbridger as the Washington correspondent of the London Daily News. | It was Maxwell who unwittingly initiated the chain of events that radically changed the Guardian’s approach. He had employed Alan Rusbridger as the Washington correspondent of the London Daily News. |
| Rusbridger was impressed by the readiness with which newspapers such as the New York Times corrected mistakes. Some, like the Washington Post, also employed ombudsmen who wrote regularly on issues raised by readers, not hesitating to adjudicate in their favour when warranted. | Rusbridger was impressed by the readiness with which newspapers such as the New York Times corrected mistakes. Some, like the Washington Post, also employed ombudsmen who wrote regularly on issues raised by readers, not hesitating to adjudicate in their favour when warranted. |
| Rusbridger was particularly impressed by the Post’s political columnist David S Broder, who had said in 1973: “ … the newspaper that drops on your doorstep is a partial, hasty, incomplete, inevitably somewhat flawed and inaccurate rendering of some of the things we have heard about in the past 24 hours … If we labelled the product accurately, then we could immediately add: But it’s the best we could do under the circumstances, and we will be back tomorrow with a corrected and updated version.” | Rusbridger was particularly impressed by the Post’s political columnist David S Broder, who had said in 1973: “ … the newspaper that drops on your doorstep is a partial, hasty, incomplete, inevitably somewhat flawed and inaccurate rendering of some of the things we have heard about in the past 24 hours … If we labelled the product accurately, then we could immediately add: But it’s the best we could do under the circumstances, and we will be back tomorrow with a corrected and updated version.” |
| As editor of the Guardian, Rusbridger quoted this so frequently that attentive members of staff might have been able to recite it for themselves. He had it in mind when he created the role of readers’ editor: the acceptance of fallibility that that implied went hand in hand with his idea of open journalism. In the process he surrendered some of his editorial power. | As editor of the Guardian, Rusbridger quoted this so frequently that attentive members of staff might have been able to recite it for themselves. He had it in mind when he created the role of readers’ editor: the acceptance of fallibility that that implied went hand in hand with his idea of open journalism. In the process he surrendered some of his editorial power. |
| The contract that guaranteed my independence meant he could not sack me (that would be up to the Scott Trust); nor could he veto or change anything I wrote. | The contract that guaranteed my independence meant he could not sack me (that would be up to the Scott Trust); nor could he veto or change anything I wrote. |
| Rusbridger clearly regarded it as a measure of success when he was able to say: “The readers’ editor is entirely beyond my control.” | Rusbridger clearly regarded it as a measure of success when he was able to say: “The readers’ editor is entirely beyond my control.” |
| As he pushed me out to face the massed journalists for the first time, he told me: “You’re going to be famous.” It sounded almost like a threat, but relatively speaking, he was right. | As he pushed me out to face the massed journalists for the first time, he told me: “You’re going to be famous.” It sounded almost like a threat, but relatively speaking, he was right. |
| Because it was the Guardian, because he supported the role with genuine commitment, because the readers’ editor was both visible and accessible (a sitting duck), it attracted an enormous amount of attention. In the office, my reception on the editorial floors of the paper was, well, not hostile. | Because it was the Guardian, because he supported the role with genuine commitment, because the readers’ editor was both visible and accessible (a sitting duck), it attracted an enormous amount of attention. In the office, my reception on the editorial floors of the paper was, well, not hostile. |
| The title of readers’ editor I devised to suggest a bridge between readers and journalists. I wanted the weekly column, Open Door, to become the forum for a running conversation about ethical and other live issues arising out of the paper’s journalism (all right, a misplaced crossword was hardly an ethical issue). | The title of readers’ editor I devised to suggest a bridge between readers and journalists. I wanted the weekly column, Open Door, to become the forum for a running conversation about ethical and other live issues arising out of the paper’s journalism (all right, a misplaced crossword was hardly an ethical issue). |
| In the wider world, the number of invitations to explain how the process worked reached a level that had Rusbridger scrutinising the small print on my contract for a travel clause (he even sent me a cod email inviting me to speak on Easter Island). | In the wider world, the number of invitations to explain how the process worked reached a level that had Rusbridger scrutinising the small print on my contract for a travel clause (he even sent me a cod email inviting me to speak on Easter Island). |
| But the Guardian system was closely replicated on newspapers in Denmark (Politiken) and India (the Hindu). Among the translations of my columns was a collection selected and produced by Moscow State University under the title Rabota nad oshibkami (Work on mistakes). The Russian paper Izvestia was showing a great deal of interest when the wind changed direction. | But the Guardian system was closely replicated on newspapers in Denmark (Politiken) and India (the Hindu). Among the translations of my columns was a collection selected and produced by Moscow State University under the title Rabota nad oshibkami (Work on mistakes). The Russian paper Izvestia was showing a great deal of interest when the wind changed direction. |
| My version of Broder’s credo lay in the question: “Why should newspapers that call for others to be accountable not be accountable for what they do themselves?” Guardian journalists on the whole seemed to think it was a reasonable thing to ask, and I’d like to thank them and the paper’s readers again for the positive way they helped me try to answer it over my decade in the role. | My version of Broder’s credo lay in the question: “Why should newspapers that call for others to be accountable not be accountable for what they do themselves?” Guardian journalists on the whole seemed to think it was a reasonable thing to ask, and I’d like to thank them and the paper’s readers again for the positive way they helped me try to answer it over my decade in the role. |
| Ian Mayes was readers’ editor from November 1997 until April 2007 | Ian Mayes was readers’ editor from November 1997 until April 2007 |
| Next week: Siobhain Butterworth | Next week: Siobhain Butterworth |
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