Paul Dacre facts for kids

Paul Michael Dacre (/ˈdeɪkər/; born 14 November 1948) is an English journalist and the former long-serving editor of the British tabloid the Daily Mail. He is also editor-in-chief of DMG Media, which publishes the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday, the free daily tabloid Metro, the MailOnline website, and other titles.

On 1 October 2018, Dacre became chairman and editor-in-chief of Associated Newspapers, and stood down as editor of the Daily Mail in the following month. He briefly left Associated Newspapers in November 2021, but rejoined just three weeks later following his withdrawal from the race to become Ofcom chairman.

Early life

Dacre was born and grew up in the north London suburb of Arnos Grove in Enfield. His father, Peter, was a journalist on the Sunday Express whose work included show business features. Joan (née Hill), his mother, was a teacher; the couple had five sons, of whom Paul was the eldest. One of his brothers, Nigel, was editor of ITV's news programmes from 1995 to 2002.

Dacre was educated at University College School, an independent school in Hampstead, on a state scholarship, where he was head of house. In his school holidays, he worked as a messenger at the Sunday Express, and during his pre-university gap year as a trainee in the Daily Express. From 1967 he read English at the University of Leeds, while Jack Straw was President of the Students' Union.

While at university, he became involved with the Union News newspaper (the Leeds Student from 1970), rising to the position of editor. At this time he identified with the liberal end of the political spectrum on issues including gay rights.

On his graduation in 1971, Dacre joined the Daily Express in Manchester for a six-month trial; after this he was given a full-time job on the Express. Concerning his career choice, Dacre commented in the BJR interview that he did not have "any desire to do anything other than journalism".

Early career

At the Express, Dacre was based in Belfast for a few years before sent to the office in London. He was sent to Washington D.C., in 1976 to cover that year's American presidential election, remaining there until 1979, when he moved to New York as a correspondent. It was at this time that his politics shifted to the right:

I don't see how anybody can go to America, work there for six years and not be enthralled by the energy of the free market. America taught me the power of the free market, as opposed to the State, to improve the lives of the vast majority of ordinary people.

After his years at the Express bureau, Dacre was head-hunted by David English, appointed as head of the Mail's New York bureau in 1979 and brought back to London in 1980. A profile in The Independent in 1992 recounted his behaviour in this period: "It was terrifying stuff. He would rampage through the newsroom with his arms flailing like a windmill, scratching himself manically as he fired himself up." Subsequently, he became assistant editor (news and features), assistant editor (features) in 1987, executive editor the following year and associate editor in 1989. In this period, according to former colleague Sue Douglas, Dacre was a "good David English disciple". Adrian Addison found opinions differed as to whether Dacre was an English protégé when he was conducting research for Mail Men.

During Dacre's brief period as editor of the Evening Standard from March 1991 to July the following year, circulation of the newspaper rose by 16%.

Editor of the Daily Mail

Dacre succeeded (the by then) Sir David English as editor of the Daily Mail in July 1992. Dacre had turned down an offer from Rupert Murdoch to edit The Times believing that Murdoch "would not accept my desire to edit with freedom". It was his approach to the job of editor, "hard-working, disciplined, confrontational" according to Roy Greenslade, which had led Murdoch to attempt to hire him. For the Mail, Dacre was considered important enough to necessitate sidelining someone thought unsackable; English became editor-in-chief and Chairman of Associated Newspapers, then the parent company.

Dacre was known in the summer of 1992 to be against Britain's membership of the Exchange Rate Mechanism (this was shortly before Black Wednesday in September when Britain was forced out of the ERM) and the Maastricht Treaty. Several leaders in his last weeks at the Standard asserted that "Maastricht is dead" (on 10 June); "Unrealities in the EEC" (sic, 29 June); and an appeal to prime minister John Major, 'Come on, John, gizzaballot" (30 June). In contrast, English was a Europhile and allowed more international content in the paper. Dacre apparently ceased publishing a page on World News and an American diary as soon as possible after he took over.

After English died in March 1998, Dacre himself became the Mail Group's editor-in-chief the following July, in addition to remaining as editor of the Daily Mail.

Editorial style

Known for his confrontational style and conservative editorial stance, Dacre shaped the Daily Mail into a powerful voice for middle-class conservatism, often channeling and influencing public opinion on key political and social issues.

His tenure was marked by sensationalism and controversy. Critics accused him of "peddling prejudice," while supporters praised his ability to connect with readers. Under his leadership, the paper became known for its campaigns, such as seeking justice for Stephen Lawrence's killers in 1997.

Dacre's Daily Mail won "Newspaper of the Year" six times at the British Press Awards, twice as often as any other title during his editorship.

Later career

On 6 June 2018, it was announced that Dacre's period as editor of the Daily Mail would end in time for his 70th birthday in November 2018. At the beginning of October 2018, he would take up a new role as chairman of Associated Newspapers, which is part of the holding company DMGT (Daily Mail & General Trust). He has been editor-in-chief of Associated Newspapers since 1998 and would retain that title; he would, however, be giving up his seat on the board of the holding company "prior to the end of the financial year". In 2019, it was announced that Dacre will front a Channel 4 documentary called The World According to Paul Dacre, that will share "his unique insights into the events and people who defined the front page of his newspaper". The documentary is set to be released in early 2021.

The editor of The Mail on Sunday, Geordie Greig, was appointed to succeed Dacre the following day. Greig's appointment was reported as being a way of "detoxifying" the paper, and there was speculation its support for leaving the European Union might be toned down. Dacre wrote the following week's "Diary" column for The Spectator in which he insisted: "Support for Brexit is in the DNA of both the Daily Mail and, more pertinently, its readers".

The end of Dacre's role as chairman of the PCC's Editors' Code of Practice Committee (which began in April 2008) was announced at the beginning of December 2016.

Dacre was a member of the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) from 1999 to 2008. He left the PCC in order to become chairman of the PCC's editors' code of practice committee from April 2008. His departure from the post was announced in early December 2016. In the British Press Awards, organised by the Society of Editors, Dacre's Daily Mail won the "Newspaper of the Year" category on six occasions, twice as often as any other title. In November 2021, Dacre resigned as chairman and editor-in-chief of Associated Newspapers. Three weeks after his resignation, he rejoined the company as editor-in-chief of DMG Media, having withdrawn his candidature to become the chairman of the UK's media regulator Ofcom.

Application for chair of Ofcom

Ofcom deemed Dacre not acceptable as its chairman, but rather than appoint candidates whose neutrality had been accepted the government decided to re-interview all candidates. The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee chair, Julian Knight a Conservative MP, said this was quite unreasonable and Dacre should be excluded from reapplying.

Personal life

While he was a student at Leeds University, Dacre met his future wife, Kathleen, now a professor of drama studies. Both of their two sons attended Eton; James is a theatre director, while their other son is a businessman.

For many years, Dacre has been the highest-paid newspaper editor in Britain. In 2008, Dacre received £1.62 million in salary and cash payments, an increase from the £1.49 million of the previous year. According to the DMGT annual report for 2017, Dacre's total income from the group amounted to £2.37 million, including a salary of £1.45m and an additional £856,000 as part of the company's Long-Term Investment Plan (LTIP). His total DGMT remuneration increased by 56% over payments made during 2016. Dacre's pension scheme, which began in 1979 and is no longer paid into by the group, pays him £708,000 a year.

Dacre's London home is in Belgravia. His other residences include a large farm in Wadhurst, East Sussex, the 17,000-acre (69 km²) Langwell Estate near Ullapool in the Scottish Highlands and a home in the British Virgin Islands.

Dacre has benefited from subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy from the European Union. In 2014, he received £88,000 for the two holdings and under the exchange rate of late March 2016, he is believed to have received £460,000 since 2011.