Alison Phillips (born 1970) is a British journalist who served as the editor of the Daily Mirror between 2018 and 2024.
Biography
editPhillips grew up in Essex and first worked as a reporter for the Harlow Star Weekly Newspaper.[1] She then attended the University of Leeds where she took a secondment for a year as the editor of the student newspaper (Leeds Student, now called the Gryphon). She then worked for the Evening Argus in Brighton, Connors News Agency and Woman before joining Trinity Mirror (now Reach) in 1998 as a feature writer on the Sunday People magazine.
In 2016, Phillips launched The New Day, a national newspaper which aimed to deliver politically neutral news, primarily for a female audience.[2][3] Its launch was sceptically received by media commentators.[4] The new venture failed to reach target circulation and was closed two months after its launch.[5][6] Later that year she was made Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Trinity Mirror papers.[7][8]
Daily Mirror
editIn 2018, Phillips was named as the Editor of the Daily Mirror,[9] making her its first female editor since its very first editor in 1903, Mary Howarth. She often writes and speaks about gender equality and the gender pay gap, including at her own company.[10][11]
She is a regular media commentator, often appearing on programmes such as the BBC's Politics Live[12] and ITV's This Morning.[13] In June 2018, she was a guest on BBC One's Question Time, declaring that the Brexit negotiations had made Britain "a global laughing stock".[14]
In 2018 she was named a "Columnist of the Year" at the National Press Awards,[15] for her weekly Wednesday column in the Daily Mirror.[16] The column often covers working-class family issues from a broadly left-wing perspective. Under her editorship, the Daily Mirror's stance on Brexit has been critical of the Conservative government, but remained opposed to calls for a second referendum.[17] Phillips succeeded Eleanor Mills as chair of the Women in Journalism pressure group in February 2021.[18][19]
Phillips stepped down as editor-in-chief of the Daily Mirror at the end of January 2024.[20]
References
edit- ^ Greenslade, Roy (6 March 2016). "Alison Phillips: 'The New Day is about looking behind the news'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
- ^ Sweney, Mark (29 February 2016). "New Day editor Alison Phillips: 'We threw out all previous thinking'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
- ^ Greenslade, Roy (6 March 2016). "Alison Phillips: 'The New Day is about looking behind the news'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
- ^ Greenslade, Roy (20 March 2016). "The New Day got off to a terrible start, and Trinity Mirror's bosses are to blame". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- ^ "New Day paper to close after poor sales". BBC News. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ "New Day Editor Snipes At Critics With Euthanasia Gag In Paper's Final Issue". HuffPost. UK. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
- ^ Sweney, Mark; Jackson, Jasper (12 May 2016). "The New Day's former editor made deputy editor-in-chief of the Mirror". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
- ^ Mayhew, Freddy (13 May 2016). "Former The New Day editor Alison Phillips appointed deputy editor-in-chief of Mirror titles". Press Gazette. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ InPublishing. "Editorial changes at Mirror, Express and Star". www.inpublishing.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ Phillips, Alison (22 March 2018). "Diary: Why I don't want to become the Mirror's Margaret Thatcher". New Statesman. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
- ^ "Female journalists in bid to reduce Trinity Mirror gender pay gap - Journalism News from HoldtheFrontPage". HoldtheFrontPage. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
- ^ "BBC Two - Politics Live". BBC. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
- ^ "Is posting boasting?". ITV This Morning. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
- ^ "BBC Question Time". en-gb.facebook.com. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
- ^ "Winners of National Press Awards announced by Jessie Sampson". Newsworks. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ "Alison Phillips - Mirror Online". www.mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
- ^ Greenslade, Roy (30 September 2018). "Why the Daily Mirror is having to tread a Brexit tightrope". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
- ^ Mayhew, Freddy (10 August 2021). "Mirror editor Alison Phillips on Cummings lockdown scoop, not being woke and the market for good news". Press Gazette. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ Brown, Mariella (9 February 2021). "Mirror editor Alison Phillips takes over as WIJ chair". Society of Editors. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ "Daily Mirror editor-in-chief Alison Phillips stepping down". BBC News. 15 January 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.