Press Association editor Jonathan Grun has been installed as president of the Society of Editors – and reminded his audience at the Society’s conference never to lose sight of why they do their jobs.

The conference has examined the major issues facing editors of regional and national newspapers, and of the broadcasting industry.

And despite the powerful voice and big responsibility of journalists, he said the real reason they did the work they did was because… it’s fun.

He said: “Being a journalist and being an editor is the best job in the world. Where else in a single day can you get the adrenaline rush of a breaking news story, the opportunity to work with talented creative individuals and the chance to laugh until your ribs ache at the absurdity of life.

“But there is a price to pay for having so much fun. It is the duty we owe to our readers to act as their representatives. Defending their right to know what is happening in their own country, in their name and with their money, fighting their battles and giving them a voice.”

He said that one way that voice could be heard was through a professional body, such as the Society, providing a focus and fighting for the rights and freedoms of the press.

He said: “A single editor acting alone can only achieve so much. The collective voice of the Society of Editors can really make a difference in defending those essential freedoms.

“This is enshrined in the first objective of the society which declares we will ‘…defend and promote the freedom of the media and champion the universal right to freedom of expression’.

“Rest assured that in the coming year the society will be scanning the horizon for the next threat to the media and mobilising against it. The industry can be confident of the society’s vigilance. For it is true that for editors, eternal vigilance is the price of our freedom … and of our fun.”

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