A former regional editorial boss has urged newsroom leaders to be “a bit less Han Solo and a bit more Yoda” in the way they manage their journalists.

Neil Benson, pictured, made the Star Wars comparison in a bid to encourage editors to bring out the best in staff who are more talented than them in digital aspects of their job, rather than previous eras where the editor would simply be “the best journalist in the newsroom”.

Speaking on a ‘Business Leaders’ podcast, run by fellow former regional editor Mike Sassi, Neil compared previous editors to Han Solo – a swashbuckling space pirate turned rebel pilot – while calling for current leaders to be more like Yoda – sage mentor to protagonist Luke Skywalker.

Quoting from ‘You can’t libel the dead’, Neil’s 2022 book on his time in the industry, Mike said during the podcast: “Leaders used to lead from the front and rather now they offer sage advice from the back.”

Former Nottingham Post, Stoke Sentinel and Lincolnshire Echo editor Mike then quizzed Neil, who edited the Coventry Telegraph and Newcastle Chronicle before becoming editorial director of Reach plc predecessor company Trinity Mirror, on how the world has changed for editors and whether they now needed to be a “different type of person” from their predecessors in past generations.

In reply, Neil said: “I think you can be the same person but we all develop along the way, don’t we?

“I think maybe when we set off on our careers we would know some of the same people who were very gung-ho, the best practitioner in the room. So the editor would often be the best journalist in the newsroom and the same would apply with other industries and sectors.

“Anybody over 40 is probably not a digital native so it’s harder for us, even as hard as we might try to understand digital and really wrap our heads around it.

“It’s more about understanding and accepting that and then finding and developing the talent that these sort of things do come to naturally and helping to facilitate them.

“This is a bit of a glib phrase, but I’d often say when we’re having discussions around leadership development – be a bit less Han Solo and a bit more Yoda.”

Speaking to HTFP, Neil added: “When I started out as a young reporter, the editor was very often the best journalist in the newsroom. He – it was always a ‘he’ – rolled his sleeves up every day and led the charge, Han Solo style.

“These days, the newest recruits often have digital publishing skills that are far ahead of their boss.

“At the same time, a lot of experienced staff have left the industry as management has been de-layered.

“Over the past few years, the best editors have adapted to the changed environment. They now spend much more of their time providing guidance, supporting and coaching their team. Like Yoda, only with better sentence structure.”