Louis Kirby
Encyclopedia
Louis Kirby was a British
newspaper editor.
Kirby was born in Liverpool
and grew up in Coalbrookdale
. His first job was as a reporter on the Wolverhampton Express and Star, then in 1949 he moved to Bermuda
where he worked at The Royal Gazette
. In 1951 he returned to Britain to work as a freelance, then joined the Daily Mail
in 1953. He became the Mails lobby correspondent, then in 1962 became Chief Reporter with the Daily Sketch
, and in 1969 was promoted to Executive Editor.
In 1971, the Sketch merged with the Mail. Sketch editor David English
was appointed as editor of the merged newspaper, leaving Kirby as acting editor of the last editions of the Sketch. He then moved to join English, becoming Deputy Editor of the Mail.
Kirby became editor of the London
daily, the Evening News
in 1974, and completed its transformation from broadsheet
to tabloid. Negotiations to merge the Evening News with its competitor, the Evening Standard began in 1976, but failed to make progress due to a dispute over who should edit a merged paper. Circulation of the Evening News continued to fall under Kirby's editorship, and in 1979, the paper stopped publishing a Saturday edition.
The two papers finally merged in November 1980 to produce the New Standard, soon named the Evening Standard once more. Kirby was appointed editor, and made more than 100 journalists redundant, most from the Evening News. He stepped down in 1986, becoming Editorial Director of Mail Newspapers. From 1988 to 1993 he was political consultant to the Daily Mail, then until 2003 he was editor of the UK Mail, a weekly news digest.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
newspaper editor.
Kirby was born in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and grew up in Coalbrookdale
Coalbrookdale
Coalbrookdale is a village in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. This is where iron ore was first smelted by Abraham Darby using easily mined "coking coal". The coal was drawn from drift mines in the sides...
. His first job was as a reporter on the Wolverhampton Express and Star, then in 1949 he moved to Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
where he worked at The Royal Gazette
The Royal Gazette
The Royal Gazette, founded in 1828, is the only daily newspaper in the island nation of Bermuda. It is published Mondays through Saturdays; there is no Sunday edition....
. In 1951 he returned to Britain to work as a freelance, then joined the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
in 1953. He became the Mails lobby correspondent, then in 1962 became Chief Reporter with the Daily Sketch
Daily Sketch
The Daily Sketch was a British national tabloid newspaper, founded in Manchester in 1909 by Sir Edward Hulton.It was bought in 1920 by Lord Rothermere's Daily Mirror Newspapers but in 1925 Rothermere offloaded it to William and Gomer Berry The Daily Sketch was a British national tabloid newspaper,...
, and in 1969 was promoted to Executive Editor.
In 1971, the Sketch merged with the Mail. Sketch editor David English
David English (journalist)
Sir David English was a British journalist and newspaper editor, best known for his twenty-year editorship of the Daily Mail.-Early life:...
was appointed as editor of the merged newspaper, leaving Kirby as acting editor of the last editions of the Sketch. He then moved to join English, becoming Deputy Editor of the Mail.
Kirby became editor of the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
daily, the Evening News
Evening News (London)
Evening News, formerly known as The Evening News, was an evening newspaper published in London from 1881 to 1980, reappearing briefly in 1987. It became highly popular under the control of the Harmsworth brothers. For a long time it maintained the largest daily sale of any evening newspaper in London...
in 1974, and completed its transformation from broadsheet
Broadsheet
Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
to tabloid. Negotiations to merge the Evening News with its competitor, the Evening Standard began in 1976, but failed to make progress due to a dispute over who should edit a merged paper. Circulation of the Evening News continued to fall under Kirby's editorship, and in 1979, the paper stopped publishing a Saturday edition.
The two papers finally merged in November 1980 to produce the New Standard, soon named the Evening Standard once more. Kirby was appointed editor, and made more than 100 journalists redundant, most from the Evening News. He stepped down in 1986, becoming Editorial Director of Mail Newspapers. From 1988 to 1993 he was political consultant to the Daily Mail, then until 2003 he was editor of the UK Mail, a weekly news digest.