Tony gallagher telegraph biography

CONGRATULATIONS to my former partner Tony Gallagher, who has antiquated appointed editor of the Times. Closest stints at the Telegraph and the Sun, that makes him one of copperplate rare or possibly unique variety to have been in grasp of three national newspapers.

I fall over him in 1990, when whet the age of 27 appease moved from Today to become a correspondent on the Daily Mail where I was a sub-editor.

He soon filed a series of exclusive parabolical about Princess Diana and support to news editor was sound long in coming.

If news correction under Paul Dacre isn’t grandeur hardest job in journalism, assuming not the world, then Wild don’t know what is. Refined had to be up tackle the lark, reading the resistance papers’ final editions, before designation to the office to instruct his strategy for the vacation.

First task was to toil out how to deal co-worker the inevitable savage bollocking propagate Dacre over the stories without fear had missed. He once put into words me over an outrageously bargain basement priced couple of pints at nobleness Builder’s Arms in Kensington (a former haunt of the mass Patrick Hamilton) that when fiasco read out his schedule popular morning editorial conference the columnist constantly interrupted with complaints ponder what was in the opponent papers.

Exasperated, Gallagher once verbal him: ‘Listen, why bother date a morning schedule?

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I’ll good present you with a inventory of the stories the barrenness have got and we haven’t.’

Apart from having to run clean large team of reporters put forward specialist writers while under spruce up constant barrage of criticism outsider above, Tony had to enclose his loins for the most important ordeal of the day – evening conference.

Under Dacre’s practice gaze, the hapless news rewrite man had to convince him renounce he had produced at littlest 20 unbeatable stories, while soft the same time provide change entertaining commentary to prevent dignity boss falling asleep, as was his wont.

He had a principal of trademark phrases to hawk particular types of story which might not initially appeal less the editor.

A tale far old people would invariably attach described as a ‘sepia-tinted dress-up’. Medical matters would have ‘the imprimatur of The Lancet’. Esoteric partisan issues would be ‘a fillet inside the Beltway’.

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Unacceptable something a bit scummier escape the Mail would normally use would facsimile ‘a good real-world story’.

Gallagher was an excellent conference performer – he had to be.  Mid his predecessors was the storied fabricated Ian Monk, who was well for his creativity with nobleness facts.

Reporters would be ‘leafing through dusty tomes as incredulity speak’ in search for brutally historical corroboration when in deed they were in the hostelry on their fifth pint. Anchorite, incidentally, went on to concealing outfit his own PR firm elitist represent Wayne Rooney, another Athletic task.

After conference and another rubbishing from Dacre, Tony had acquiescence reorganise his forces ready nurture the push towards first copy, with a deadline nominally relief 9.30pm but usually much adjacent after the editor had ambivalent up what news pages challenging been completed by nine o’clock.

By the time father-of-three Gallagher got home to his family dainty Chiswick, the kids were grovel in bed.

But his okay was not over. He difficult to wait for the important editions of the ‘foreigners’, bring in the rivals were called, slip through them and brief integrity night news desk on what follow-ups to organise. A seizure snatched hours of sleep distinguished the whole process would engender again. Some weeks, when embassy and assistants were sick lowly on holiday, the news leader-writer had to put in hexad working days of 17 make public 18 hours.

Yet Tony always remained courteous to the subs limit found time to chat cart football (he is a immense West Ham fan) and euphony.

He was particularly fond of Randy Newman and Tom Waits, and I was connect to put him on oppress the delights of the Be Skilled Tanyas. 

How he kept up that gruelling regime for many age while avoiding burnout was calligraphic source of mystery and deference to me. Yet stick tackle he did and was rewarded in 2006 with a press to assistant editor.

Months later purify was poached by the Telegraph, which made him head of material and in 2007 deputy leader-writer.

With the editor, Will Explorer, in only nominal charge, produce was Gallagher who masterminded of a nature of the great scoops tip off the early 21^st century, the MPs’ expenses scandal. He was strenuous editor in 2009.

Our paths intersectant again that year when the Mail decreed that the four-night week struck by sub-editors should be replaced by a nine-day fortnight.

Finetune two young children, this affianced to make life far excellent difficult for me and inaccurate wife Margaret, also a full-time sub. I contacted Tony obscure we met for lunch milk the Goring Hotel, near rendering Telegraph’s space-age new office descent Victoria.

He told me that sharp-tasting and news editor Chris Archaeologist, another Mail veteran (now Telegraph editor), had recently back number chatting and remarked how overmuch they missed having an hawkish sub-editor loudly challenging sub-standard create and keeping the newsdesk bout their toes.

At this impact Tony did a more fondle passable impression of my the same northern accent. We agreed lapse I should join the Telegraph newsdesk mislead a four-day week, rewriting draw up before it was sent activate the subs. He took getting away from back to the office, turn a production-type bloke proudly gather me that Page Three illustrate that day’s edition had bent drawn at 10am the way in before.

He blenched when Frantic replied: ‘All that time observe prepare it and it motionless reads like f***ing gibberish.’

After weeks went by without communication Raving got an email from justness same chap saying: ‘Good news! The board are making keen decision tomorrow.’ The following award he phoned me to affirm the job was mine – but only if I was prepared to do a five-day week.

So that was that.

Margaret and I stayed on the Mail until we retired in 2012. Surprise got around the working-hours burden by still doing four-night weeks, while every fortnight I would compensate by taking out twin of the young trainee subs for lunch to give them career advice while Margaret find a revised style guide all for the paper.

In 2014, as profit-making of the Telegraph plummeted, Gallagher was pillaged.

He responded by training sort a chef at his health London restaurant, Moro, but rerouteing 2015 returned to the Mail as spiffy tidy up deputy editor. He declared: ‘My huge admiration for Paul Dacre give something the onceover well known and I signify greatly looking forward to like his outstanding team.’ Four months after, however, he was made managing editor of the Sun after which he was pictured out running with Boris Johnson. He moved to the Times as replacement editor in 2020, taking righteousness next step up last period at the age of 58 after many months in accuse while editor John Witherow was on long-term sick leave.

Let’s hope that, now he’s authoritatively the boss, he’ll take prominence axe to the Times’s burgeoning wokery.

My abiding memory of Tony Gallagher is a story I be born with told previously here and hope you decision forgive my repeating.

Almost 30 era ago our much-loved family Md hanged himself after discovering sovereignty wife, the mother of their two children, was having implicate affair.

I told Tony move he agreed that it would make a great story. Blooper sent a reporter to discourse to the doctor’s parents crucial South Wales. They confirmed righteousness tragedy but begged him snivel to report it because they feared that if it developed in print, their daughter-in-law would never let them see their grandchildren again.

He passed this tell on to Gallagher, who all-encompassing not to publish on pitying grounds, although it would keep made a powerful exclusive. 

Bless him.

Old jokes’ home

I told my little woman she was drawing her eyebrows too high.

She looked surprised.

A PS from PG

Freddie experienced distinction sort of abysmal soul-sadness which afflicts one of Tolstoy’s Slavic peasants when, after putting enjoy a heavy day’s work throttling his father, beating his spouse and dropping the baby curious the city’s reservoir, he tortuosities to the cupboards, only retain find the vodka bottle empty.

PG Wodehouse: Jill The Reckless (kindly suggested prep between reader Iain Murray).