Inside Journalism
Journalists in the News: Daily Mirror editor quits
Daily Mirror Editor Alison Phillips is stepping down at the end of the month. Caroline Waterston, editor-in-chief for Reach magazines is going to take over the role on an interim basis, according to The Times.
When the Mirror was launched in 1903 it was heralded as a newspaper by women and for women but when Phillips took over as editor in 2018 she was the first female editor in over a century.
The Mirror has been haemorrhaging readers for decades. Its circulation figures have fallen below 250,000.
Phillips’ departure follows the announcement by Reach (which also owns the Express, Daily Record and Daily Star titles) that it was cutting 450 jobs. Many in the media are now speculating about the long term future of the Mirror.
The Labour Party will be watching these developments with concern. For generations the Mirror has been the only left-leaning voice among the tabloids and Labour strategists fear they may struggle to get a fair hearing from the Tory supporting Sun, Mail, Star and Express.