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Pete Clifton
Editor-in-Chief at PA Media
Pete Clifton is a prominent journalist and media executive currently serving as the Editor-in-Chief at PA Media, the national news agency of the UK and Ireland, a position he has held since January 2015. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing all editorial content and managing the teams that produce it.1
Clifton has a rich background in journalism and media management, with extensive experience across various platforms, including web, mobile, TV, and newspapers. He has been instrumental in launching and editing major news and sports websites and has developed strategies for multimedia newsrooms. His leadership style emphasizes strong editorial values, teamwork, and clear communication, enabling him to navigate significant organizational changes and challenges effectively.1
Before his tenure at PA Media, Clifton held several key positions at the BBC, including Head of Editorial Development for Multi-Media Journalism and Editor of the BBC News website. He also worked as an Executive Producer at Microsoft, where he played a crucial role in reshaping the MSN UK website and its editorial team.1
As of July 2024, Clifton announced his plans to step down from his role at PA Media at the end of the year, marking a significant transition in his career.23
Highlights
It's hardly a breaking news alert from PA, but I am stepping down as Editor-in-Chief at this brilliant news agency at the end of the year.
Entirely my call and there were various efforts to persuade me to stay. But I've decided that after 10 years at the helm, and an eye-watering 43 years in journalism, I'm ready to ease off slightly from full-time work and have more opportunities to make merry.
Being part of the PA machine has been an enormous privilege, and I'm lucky to have had so many amazing people around me to ensure our vital newsgathering has kept evolving to stay at the heart of the UK and Ireland's media landscape.
I can also look back fondly at the many friends I've made during my time at the BBC, Microsoft, Extel, and, of course, where it all began at the Northampton Chronicle and Echo.
My career has been grounded in great good fortune throughout - starting with landing my first break at the Chronicle and Echo because my dad mowed the lawn of the managing director! I've been blessed by cracking colleagues whose achievements I could always take credit for, and my simple approach has been to work hard, and have as much fun as possible along the way.
But fear not, I'm not disappearing. Apart from more time for family, travel, cycling, golf, piano and banjo (!), I could be tempted by work or projects where my experience and insight could be of value. And I'm also going to pull together the best 50 or so stories from those 43 years and turn them into some talks that could be informative, helpful or just, hopefully, funny. If you're interested in any of those plans, just let me know!
I'll be at PA for a few more months yet, so if our paths cross in the meantime - it's my round.
The morning after the night before... PA Media, the beating heart of any UK General Election - 500 pieces on the wire overnight, 150 online stories, 1,000 images, 100 video packages, 35 live streams, results called in from 650 constituencies, 1.78m requests to our results feed, nearly 4,000 users on our content platform. You get the picture - there's really no place like it. Brilliant people, and they'll do it all again today...
