After twenty exciting and turbulent years Alan Rusbridger has retired as editor of the Guardian. He discussed his editorship with Baroness Helena Kennedy QC during an event at the Guildhall, in front of colleagues and the public.
There wasn’t a spare seat left in the house, and Rusbridger was clearly held in high esteem. He has transformed the Guardian into a global voice, covering some important and powerful stories, especially in last 5 years; and by embracing new media.
Rusbridger was softly spoken and self deprecating, telling interesting anecdotes punctuated with his characteristic long pauses. Helena Kennedy was definitely a more forthright speaker, guiding the conversation along.
They reflected on his career at the Guardian – he joined in 1979, and was TV critic at the Observer. After a short stint working for Robert Maxwell in Washington DC in 1987, he returned to the Guardian in 1988 in order to launch G2 magazine.
They discussed his early years as Guardian editor from 1995, when it was hit by a flurry of big libel actions after taking on stories against politicians, police and big corporations. In the 1990s, the newspaper exposed allegations of corruption amongst police officers at Stoke Newington Police Station which lead to a series of libel ‘garage’ actions; police officers were able to build a garage extension from proceeds, when libel cases were decided in their favour.
In 1995 the paper was also sued by former MP Jonathan Aitken after publishing allegations of ‘cash for (parliamentary) questions’; it was proven that Aitken accepted financial ‘gifts’ from the Saudi Royal family when he was minister for defence procurement, in return for fixing defence contracts.
Trafigura, the British oil company, launched an injunction, after details of a toxic oil spillage off coast of West Africa was revealed. The Guardian won all of these cases, defended by lawyers like George Carman, Helena Kennedy and Geoffrey Robertson - which might otherwise have made it bankrupt.
Rusbridger highlighted the unique position of the Guardian amongst newspapers - because it’s not owned by a media baron. It's run by the Scott Trust, according to principles set out by former editor C.P. Scott and his son JR Scott who created the Trust in 1936 when it was known as the Manchester Guardian. Incidentally, the paper's Manchester origins (1821) may well have contributed to its non-conformist, dissenting position. Operations moved to metropolitan London in 1976.
Successive editors, including Rusbridger, have adhered to Scott’s values ensuring continuity, moral purpose, independence and freedom of speech, above making a profit. This has also given the paper some flexibility and enabled a level of risk-taking, evidenced when it (like 'the Daily Mail') adapted to the internet in the early 1990s.
The advent of the internet signalled to Rusbridger that change by way of digitalization was afoot. He ‘had a burning conviction that nothing would be the same again’. Rusbridger captured the prevailing zeitgeist by developing the Guardian website, helped by Emily Bell, then director of Digital Content and Ian Katz, former deputy editor. The format would be different to print version, to reflect experience of viewing material over the internet; while ensuring top quality. serious content, and without a pay wall.
The Guardian online has been a massive success, with innovations such as Comment is free; an open forum for debate, and widening its audience worldwide. According to Rusbridger, it has recently overtaken the New York Times as most widely read English language newspaper in the world (discounting 'the Daily Mail').
The online edition has broken many important new stories including an in depth investigation into phone hacking at 'The News of World' in 2009, Wikileaks / Julian Assange in 2010 and recent Edward Snowden revelations.
In 2014 the Guardian won a Pulitzer Prize for revealing US National Security Agency’s (NSA’s) surveillance activities, leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden. Rusbridger makes a brief cameo appearance in upcoming film biopic on Snowden, by Oliver Stone.
Ewen MacAskill, Guardian intelligence correspondent, who compiled revelations against the NSA, was present in audience, and Rusbridger introduced him to everyone. MacAskill features in Edward Snowden documentary ‘Citizen Four’ (2014)
It appears that Edward Snowden revelations may well be the defining story of Alan Rusbridger’s editorship; capturing the world’s attention, and reflecting values that underpin the Guardian in terms of it’s moral objectives - by challenging the government on data collection, defending the public’s right to privacy and freedom of speech.
And Helena Kennedy referred to Rusbridger’s ‘nerves of steel’, despite his mild mannered exterior; this came to the fore when he was confronted by police in 2014 at the new Guardian offices in King’s Cross, over destroying files relevant to Snowden revelations - which could have landed him in jail.
She asked what compelled him (considering his privileged background), and the Guardian to stand up to the establishment. Rusbridger believes that newspapers must act as independent entities, with the ability to interrogate establishment and corporations, on behalf of the people and in the public interest.
Kennedy asked him about his future plans, after handing over reins to new editor Katherine Viner in June 2015. Rusbridger replied that he would catch up on box sets, play the piano and write for TV and the Guardian. He has been appointed chair of the Scott Trust which oversees paper's integrity, and as such, will remain on the scene.
Rusbridger was given a standing ovation at the evening’s end; a fitting tribute to an editor who has steered and strategically positioned the Guardian during a turbulent period; enabling it to withstand challenges of the next generation, while channelling its founding values.