George Pitcher
Encyclopedia
George Pitcher is a journalist, author, public relations
pioneer and an Anglican priest. He was appointed Secretary for Public Affairs to the Archbishop of Canterbury in October 2010 and left the post a year later. Previously, he was Religion Editor of Telegraph Media from May 2008 and wrote a regular column and occasional leaders for the Daily Telegraph and a contentious blog for telegraph.co.uk. He left the paper in June 2010, six weeks after editor-in-chief Will Lewis abruptly departed after a strategic disagreement.
between 1988 and 1991, during which his commentary on the high summer of Thatcherite utility privatisation led to the Industrial Society
(the precursor to the Work Foundation) voting him National Newspaper Industrial Journalist of the Year in 1991.
, Kimberly Clark, Holocaust Memorial Day
and the Hinduja family.
Luther Pendragon lays claim to having developed the professional practice of issues management, but this is disputed in the PR industry. In 2005, the firm was subject to a management buy-out, said to be worth £11 million by the trade magazine PR Week.
and was ordained curate of St Bride's Church
, Fleet Street
, London - known as "the journalists' church". He is now Associate Priest at St Bride's. He has proved a turbulent priest, organising controversial debates in church and a Christmas concert by Seventies supergroup Jethro Tull
.
He occasionally attacks the conservative evangelical wing of the Church in print. He has also expressed concern about the entry of Anglican priests into the Catholic Church after the Holy Office accepted the creation of personal ordinariate
s for disaffected High Church
traditionalists. He has been an outspoken opponent of the legalisation of assisted suicide and euthanasia in the UK
He has also criticised the National Secular Society
on the grounds that its website used language about "campaigning", "fighting" and that "it reads entirely like it is fighting a war to expunge religion from people's lives, even to make it something of which to be ashamed and contemptuous."
in Tiverton, Devon
, he has honours degrees in Contextual Theology from Middlesex University
(2005) and in Drama and Theatre Arts from Birmingham University (1977). Pitcher lives with his wife and several children in Sussex
.
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
pioneer and an Anglican priest. He was appointed Secretary for Public Affairs to the Archbishop of Canterbury in October 2010 and left the post a year later. Previously, he was Religion Editor of Telegraph Media from May 2008 and wrote a regular column and occasional leaders for the Daily Telegraph and a contentious blog for telegraph.co.uk. He left the paper in June 2010, six weeks after editor-in-chief Will Lewis abruptly departed after a strategic disagreement.
Industrial editor
He was Industrial Editor of The ObserverThe Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
between 1988 and 1991, during which his commentary on the high summer of Thatcherite utility privatisation led to the Industrial Society
Industrial society
In sociology, industrial society refers to a society driven by the use of technology to enable mass production, supporting a large population with a high capacity for division of labour. Such a structure developed in the west in the period of time following the Industrial Revolution, and replaced...
(the precursor to the Work Foundation) voting him National Newspaper Industrial Journalist of the Year in 1991.
Luther Pendragon
In 1992, he co-founded the innovative communications consultancy Luther Pendragon with Charles Stewart-Smith, the television journalist. The firm grew through the Nineties off the back of major and often controversial clients such as British GasBritish Gas
British Gas is the name of several companies:* British Gas plc, the former gas monopoly in the United Kingdom and its successor companies** Centrica, which has the rights to the British Gas name in the UK...
, Kimberly Clark, Holocaust Memorial Day
Holocaust Memorial Day
Holocaust Memorial Day or Holocaust Remembrance Day may refer to one of several commemorations of the Holocaust.-See also:* United Nations Holocaust Memorial* List of Holocaust memorials and museums...
and the Hinduja family.
Luther Pendragon lays claim to having developed the professional practice of issues management, but this is disputed in the PR industry. In 2005, the firm was subject to a management buy-out, said to be worth £11 million by the trade magazine PR Week.
Church of England ministry
Pitcher had undertaken training for ordained ministry in the Church of EnglandChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
and was ordained curate of St Bride's Church
St Bride's Church
St Bride's Church is a church in the City of London, England. The building's most recent incarnation was designed by Sir Christopher Wren in 1672 on Fleet Street in the City of London, though Wren's original building was largely gutted by fire during the London Blitz in 1940. Due to its location on...
, Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
, London - known as "the journalists' church". He is now Associate Priest at St Bride's. He has proved a turbulent priest, organising controversial debates in church and a Christmas concert by Seventies supergroup Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
.
He occasionally attacks the conservative evangelical wing of the Church in print. He has also expressed concern about the entry of Anglican priests into the Catholic Church after the Holy Office accepted the creation of personal ordinariate
Personal Ordinariate
A personal ordinariate is a canonical structure within the Catholic Church enabling former Anglicans to maintain some degree of corporate identity and autonomy with regard to the bishops of the geographical dioceses of the Catholic Church and to preserve elements of their distinctive Anglican...
s for disaffected High Church
High church
The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
traditionalists. He has been an outspoken opponent of the legalisation of assisted suicide and euthanasia in the UK
He has also criticised the National Secular Society
National Secular Society
The National Secular Society is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no-one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of religion. It was founded by Charles Bradlaugh in 1866...
on the grounds that its website used language about "campaigning", "fighting" and that "it reads entirely like it is fighting a war to expunge religion from people's lives, even to make it something of which to be ashamed and contemptuous."
Personal
Educated at Blundell's SchoolBlundell's School
Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school located in the town of Tiverton in the county of Devon, England. The school was founded in 1604 by the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the time, and relocated to its present location on the...
in Tiverton, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, he has honours degrees in Contextual Theology from Middlesex University
Middlesex University
Middlesex University is a university in north London, England. It is located in the historic county boundaries of Middlesex from which it takes its name. It is one of the post-1992 universities and is a member of Million+ working group...
(2005) and in Drama and Theatre Arts from Birmingham University (1977). Pitcher lives with his wife and several children in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
.