Oxford Mail editor Simon O’Neill is to leave the paper at the end of this month after 18 years with regional publisher Newsquest.
The campaigning editor, whose paper this week devoted 15 pages to the fight to save the Freedom of Information Act, is stepping down after 11 years in the role.
Announcing his departure, managing director Chris Moore praised Simon for his “robust” campaigning and for maintaining “the highest editorial standards.”
It is unclear at this stage whether he will be directly replaced or whether his role could be combined with that of Swindon Advertiser editor Gary Lawrence.
Simon joined Newsquest in 1997 as editor of the Advertiser and moved to his current role in 2004.
The announcment of his departure concludes an eventful week at the paper which has also seen it reveal that Prime Minister David Cameron had complained about public spending cuts in his constituency.
Simon told HTFP: “I’ve been around journalists and newsrooms since I was 20 and it’s going to be very strange when that ends. But it is time to go after almost 12 years in Oxford and 21 as an editor.
“There is a tremendous team of talented, resilient people here producing some great local journalism and I will miss them more than anything. It has been such a motivation and inspiration for me to work with them. I’m a very lucky editor.”
Chris said in a statement: “Simon leaves with my gratitude and best wishes after guiding the editorial department through some challenging times.
“He has done so while striving to maintain the highest editorial standards, recruiting and developing an array of tremendous talent and ensuring that our publications campaign robustly and tirelessly on behalf of the communities they serve.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Simon for his contribution over the years and wish him well for the future.
“An announcement on his successor will be made in due course.”
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Er, where are Simon’s comments here? Why has he decided to “step down” at this particular point? Why has Chris Moore said his/her piece in a “statement”? Why is the future “unclear at this stage”? Can on person edit an Oxford paper and a Swindon paper at the same time, as they seem to be very different sorts of places? Questions, questions…
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A decent guy and as someone who once worked at the Oxford Mail, he was one of the good’uns.
All the best Simon in where-ever your future lies.
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@Dick Minim: Newsquest do not speak to the media!
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A great man, a great editor – and a great shame.
What is the Oxford Mail without Simon O’ Neill? He’s the personality, the energy, the voice, the face, the heart of the paper. A force of nature, but a decent, noble man, a kind man, a brilliant man to work with, a man with high standards who takes no prisoners, but a man who knows how to have a laugh and knows better probably than anyone else how to run a big paper and carry it with him. Anyone who has done conference with Simon will never forget it. And no-one who has worked closely with him can ever forget it either. The city loses its voice with his leaving, but the paper is a great paper, essentially a national paper, and the fantastic staff there will continue doing in his absence what he has always demanded: producing great, angry, fun, news-packed papers that make the Oxford Mail a much bigger player in the media than it otherwise would be. But he is a huge talent and he will be back.
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I think the Newsquest high-ups have their own anti-Editor drone. You should see what’s going on down here.
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Cracking editor who led by example. He leaves behind a strong team but this is a major blow for the Mail and its sister titles, and more importantly the regional press as a whole.
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Sadly, the qualities Simon ably demonstrates – integrity, support for journalism and standards in the workplace – are of absolutely zero interest to the self-interested, brown nosing, scared, unintelligent spivs who constitute 90% of UK media companies’ management these days.
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I can see what’s happened here. Simon’s fallen on his sword for busting the pagination limit running his 15 FOI pages earlier in the week, without checking with Chris first. Best of luck Simon.
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One of the good guys and another sad loss to the profession. All the best, Simon.
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The bad news about Simon’s “departure” is just one of a multitude of dismal mis-management stories which have plunged Newsquest’s reputation to rock bottom.
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I worked for Simon for a short time before his move to Oxford. A good editor who was respected by his newsroom. He has high standards and the strength of character needed for the job. I wish him well.
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Fair to say, it’s incredible even the mercenaries that are Newsquest will allow Simon to exit the building. Cannot believe it wasn’t his decision, which indicates a sign of things to come which perhaps he didn’t want to be party too. When people of his quality leave you know it’s nearly all over…
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Very sorry to see him go (pushed?) and it would be interesting to read comments by him. Good luck. Oxford’s loss.
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You only have to look at the number of the times the Oxford Mail has been on HoldtheFrontPage over the past year or so to see that Simon is one of the great regional editors of his generation. It was the Mail which first highlighted the absurdity of the so-called ‘Right to be Forgotten’ and it is the Mail which is now leading the way in the battle to preserve FoI. Many editors are making the move into PR these days for perfectly understandable reasons, but Simon is a journalist to his fingertips and I can’t believe the industry has seen the last of him.
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A sad day. However, I am consoled by the fact that Perry Austin-Clarke is still in place at the T&A. Fierce, independent editors who stand up for their staff are hard to find.
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That warehouse must be bursting at the seams now.
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