Simon Bucks, associate editor of Sky News, is set to be the next president of the Society of Editors.

He would be the first president from broadcasting since the society was formed by the merger of the Guild of Editors and the Association of British Editors in 1999, subject to election at its November conference.

Simon began his journalistic career in 1972 as a reporter in Bristol, at South West News Service, before moving into television in 1975, where he became an award winning producer.

He produced ITV’s “Millennium Night” show on 31 December, 1999, and in 2000 joined Sky News, initially as executive producer of business news. In 2000, he became executive producer, special events. He has been associate editor since 2004.

In 2007, Bucks switched to the company’s online department, where he is focusing on developing user interactivity.

He has a special interest in innovation. He was responsible for Sky’s reconstructions of the Hutton Inquiry into the death of the scientist David Kelly and the Michael Jackson trial; and he was responsible for winning permission to stream live stenography from courtrooms direct to TV screens. This work won the RTS Innovation award in 2004 and was nominated in 2006.

He has been closely involved with the broadcasters’ campaign to get cameras into courts. He is a member of the Defence Press and Broadcasting Advisory Committee and Media Emergencies Forum. He has been on the Society of Editors’ board and a member of the Parliamentary and Legal Committee since 2005.

Bucks was unanimously nominated by the SoE board of directors as vice president and assuming approval by the annual meeting, will step up to president in succession to Paul Horrocks of the Manchester Evening News at the end of the Manchester conference on November 6.

Horrocks said: “All editors, in print, broadcasting and new media, are striving to deal with new issues that arise from user generated content and citizens’ journalism.

“Simon has been a valuable member of the board since he joined, helping to fight all of the key issues that affect everyone in the media. With his background and experience and his current work at the sharp end of the converged media, he will be able to lead the society at the time of exciting change for the whole of the media.”

Simon said: “I am honoured to be asked to be president of the Society of Editors. More importantly, I am honoured to be the first non-newspaper person to be proposed for the role. It signifies, in my view, the growing convergence of all the different media, which despite being sometimes at odds, have a common goal.

“On the key issues of media freedom and the public’s right to know we must all work together to counter increasing pressures and threats and to maximise the opportunities of these exciting times.”