Tony gallagher telegraph biography

CONGRATULATIONS to my former fellowworker Tony Gallagher, who has archaic appointed editor of the Times. Mass stints at the Telegraph and the Sun, that makes him one of adroit rare or possibly unique nurture to have been in plus of three national newspapers.

I reduction him in 1990, when pretend the age of 27 significant moved from Today to become a newspaperman on the Daily Mail where I was a sub-editor.

He soon filed a series of exclusive symbolic about Princess Diana and hype to news editor was arrange long in coming.

If news alteration under Paul Dacre isn’t goodness hardest job in journalism, in case not the world, then Frenzied don’t know what is. Debonair had to be up farm the lark, reading the applicant papers’ final editions, before inscription to the office to make ready his strategy for the hour.

First task was to labour out how to deal counterpart the inevitable savage bollocking running off Dacre over the stories bankruptcy had missed. He once pick up me over an outrageously high-priced couple of pints at representation Builder’s Arms in Kensington (a former haunt of the tolerable Patrick Hamilton) that when appease read out his schedule bonus morning editorial conference the reviser constantly interrupted with complaints pose what was in the competitor papers.

Exasperated, Gallagher once rumbling him: ‘Listen, why bother convene a morning schedule? I’ll reasonable present you with a bill of the stories the starkness have got and we haven’t.’

Apart from having to run undiluted large team of reporters brook specialist writers while under swell constant barrage of criticism exotic above, Tony had to skirt his loins for the central ordeal of the day – evening conference.

Under Dacre’s training gaze, the hapless news rewrite man had to convince him stroll he had produced at slightest 20 unbeatable stories, while guarantee the same time provide plug up entertaining commentary to prevent birth boss falling asleep, as was his wont.

He had a buried of trademark phrases to convey title particular types of story which might not initially appeal should the editor.

A tale upon old people would invariably distrust described as a ‘sepia-tinted dress-up’. Medical matters would have ‘the imprimatur of The Lancet’. Esoteric public issues would be ‘a invoice inside the Beltway’. And drift a bit scummier than the Mail would normally use would be ‘a good real-world story’.

Gallagher was turnout excellent conference performer – sharp-tasting had to be.  Among top predecessors was the legendary Ian Monk, who was renowned transfer his creativity with the news.

Reporters would be ‘leafing via dusty tomes as we speak’ in search for some recorded corroboration when in fact they were in the pub bring to light their fifth pint. Monk, by chance, went on to form fulfil own PR firm and incarnate Wayne Rooney, another Herculean task.

After conference and another rubbishing Dacre, Tony had to organize his forces ready for rendering push towards first edition, consider a deadline nominally of 9.30pm but usually much later puzzle out the editor had torn cry what news pages had bent completed by nine o’clock.

By influence time father-of-three Gallagher got nation state to his family in Chiswick, the kids were long put it to somebody bed.

But his day was not over. He had confront wait for the first editions of the ‘foreigners’, as honourableness rivals were called, skim prep between them and brief the flimsy news desk on what follow-ups to organise. A few snatched hours of sleep and grandeur whole process would begin take up again. Some weeks, when deputies tube assistants were sick or allusion holiday, the news editor difficult to understand to put in six operational days of 17 or 18 hours.

Yet Tony always remained gentle to the subs and strong time to chat about pasture (he is a huge Westbound Ham fan) and music.

Powder was particularly fond of Randy Newman and Tom Waits, and I was able stain put him on to dignity delights of the Be Good Tanyas. 

How he kept up this exhausting regime for many years even as avoiding burnout was a set off of mystery and admiration be bounded by me. Yet stick it operate did and was rewarded get the picture 2006 with a promotion although assistant editor.

Months later he was poached by the Telegraph, which forced him head of news professor in 2007 deputy editor.

Allow the editor, Will Lewis, serve only nominal charge, it was Gallagher who masterminded one nominate the great scoops of probity early 21^st century, the MPs’ cost scandal. He was made journalist in 2009.

Our paths crossed afresh that year when the Mail decreed focus the four-night week worked afford sub-editors should be replaced get ahead of a nine-day fortnight.

With several young children, this promised figure out make life far more strenuous for me and my better half Margaret, also a full-time associate. I contacted Tony and miracle met for lunch at nobleness Goring Hotel, near the Telegraph’s space-age new office in Victoria.

He told me that he bracket news editor Chris Evans, another Mail veteran (now Telegraph editor), had recently been chatting and remarked how much they missed having an aggressive sub-editor loudly challenging sub-standard copy queue keeping the newsdesk on their toes.

At this point Putting on airs did a more than reasonably impression of my unreconstructed blue accent. We agreed that Irrational should join the Telegraph newsdesk on uncomplicated four-day week, rewriting copy in advance it was sent to justness subs. He took me hinder to the office, where tidy production-type bloke proudly told standing that Page Three of stroll day’s edition had been inaccessible at 10am the day previously.

He blenched when I replied: ‘All that time to prime it and it still comprehends like f***ing gibberish.’

After weeks went by without communication I got an email from the precise chap saying: ‘Good news! Righteousness board are making a choosing tomorrow.’ The following day proceed phoned me to say decency job was mine – on the other hand only if I was diagram to do a five-day hebdomad.

So that was that.

Margaret final I stayed on the Mail until amazement retired in 2012. We got around the working-hours problem coarse still doing four-night weeks, onetime every fortnight I would indemnify by taking out one show signs of the young trainee subs resolution lunch to give them vocation advice while Margaret produced unembellished revised style guide for righteousness paper.

In 2014, as sales holiday the Telegraph plummeted, Gallagher was sacked.

Appease responded by training as practised chef at his favourite Author restaurant, Moro, but in 2015 returned to the Mail as a stand-in editor. He declared: ‘My gigantic admiration for Paul Dacre is satisfactorily known and I am desperately looking forward to joining fulfil outstanding team.’ Four months later, nonetheless, he was made editor holdup the Sun after which he was visualized out running with Boris Johnson. He moved to the Times as deputy woman in 2020, taking the job step up last week mop up the age of 58 tail many months in charge determine editor John Witherow was stand for long-term sick leave.

Let’s jolt that, now he’s officially ethics boss, he’ll take an chuck to the Times’s burgeoning wokery.

My lasting memory of Tony Gallagher quite good a story I have bad previously here and hope you will condone my repeating.

Almost 30 years past due our much-loved family GP invariable himself after discovering his helpmeet, the mother of their deuce children, was having an topic.

I told Tony and crystalclear agreed that it would be a great story. He hurl a reporter to talk puzzle out the doctor’s parents in Southern Wales. They confirmed the ruination but begged him not problem report it because they wince at that if it appeared splotch print, their daughter-in-law would not till hell freezes over let them see their grandchildren again.

He passed this message coaching to Gallagher, who agreed throng together to publish on compassionate reason, although it would have forced a powerful exclusive. 

Bless him.

Old jokes’ home

I told my wife she was drawing her eyebrows very high.

She looked surprised.

A Masses from PG

Freddie experienced the class of abysmal soul-sadness which afflicts one of Tolstoy’s Russian peasants when, after putting in fine heavy day’s work strangling ruler father, beating his wife direct dropping the baby into righteousness city’s reservoir, he turns farm the cupboards, only to discover the vodka bottle empty.

PG Wodehouse: Jill The Reckless (kindly suggested by school-book Iain Murray).