Peter John Preston (23 May 1938 – 6 January 2018) was a British journalist and author. He was editor of The Guardian 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. He was educated at Loughborough Grammar School and St John's College, Oxford, where he edited the student paper Cherwell.

Career

Preston started his career at the Liverpool Daily Post in 1959, and joined The Guardian (then the Manchester Guardian) in 1963. He rose to become editor in 1975 and remained so for more than twenty years, retiring in 1995. 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. 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. and Radio Times, and is executive editor of The Sunday Times.

Preston received honorary degrees from the City University, London, and the universities of Leicester, Loughborough, Essex and Roehampton.

Preston died on 6 January 2018 after suffering from melanoma.

Bibliography

  • Bess (Viking, 1999)
  • 51st State (Viking, 1998)

References

  • Column archive at The Guardian
  • Hetherington Memorial Lecture, 1999: The Newspaper of the Future , Peter Preston, University of Stirling