BL-24 - Flipbook - Page 59
ENTREPRENEURS
In that role, I often appeared in the media as a pundit
and spokesperson but, while I had a Masters degree in
journalism, I’d never really put it to use, other than by
selling diary stories for beer money. So when City AM’s
proprietors asked to meet me, I went along to dinner in a
state of mild curiosity. I left, somewhat drunkenly, as their
new editor.
informed me that I would be held personally responsible for
the multi-million-pound valuation hit. As I looked around
my new City pad on a Friday evening, I thought, “well,
it was good while it lasted.” Imagine my relief when our
lawyer, Paul Fox, sent me a message saying “Don’t worry,
it’s bollocks, they’re just angry. I’ll reply on Monday.”
That was more than a decade ago – since when, I’m pleased
to say, Battersea has become a spectacularly successful
showcase for redevelopment – and I went on to serve as
editor for another 昀椀ve years, before hopping the fence for a
career change in corporate communications.
I had no idea what I’d signed up to. I didn’t know what the
editor’s job was, and I was more than a little concerned
that the newsroom would raise a collective eyebrow at my
inexperience. This wasn’t a case of imposter syndrome; it
was a case of being an actual imposter.
The less said about that experiment the better, and I was
delighted when City AM’s new owners invited me to take
up the editor’s pen once again in the summer of 2024. Much
had changed in my absence, largely thanks to Covid (again,
the less said the better) but under new ownership and with a
post-pandemic spring in its step, City AM had roared back
to life and now, a year on, I think it’s in the best shape it’s
ever been.
Paul Fox is still our lawyer, and we still have to talk to
each other often. There was the murky world of whisky
investments (Boisdale fans are surely too savvy to get roped
in) and the increasingly threatening objections of the subject
of our investigation.
Christian May, Editor-In-Chief of City AM
Some sniffy media coverage of my appointment only added
to my nerves, but support came from some unexpected
places. The brilliant journalist and author Iain Martin,
whom I’d never met, wrote me an email based on the eight
pieces of advice that an editorial grandee had sent him
when he also found himself promoted to a top newspaper
job at a young age. I think of that letter often, and the act of
kindness that lay behind it. Iain’s 昀椀nal piece of advice was:
“Enjoy it, this will be the most fun you can have with your
trousers on.”
He was right, but as I stood in my new 昀氀at reading the email
from one of London’s most notorious law 昀椀rms, I thought
the fun (and my luck) had run out. The previous day we
had run a story on a slump in the resale value of off-plan
properties at the (then 昀氀edgling) Battersea Power Station
development. Our irresistible headline was “Battersea Panic
Stations”.
Unfortunately, they didn’t see the funny side. Their lawyers
There was the international banking executive who didn’t
like one of our stories. There was the well-known company
whose six-page letter amounted to a scream of frustration.
There was the multi-layered investigation into various
shenanigans at a listed UK 昀椀rm.
And these are all just from recent weeks. Often, we send
stories to Paul for his approval, pre-publication, and while
he might suggest a sharpening or a softening of tone,
generally he replies with a thumbs-up.
Mindful as I am of tempting fate, I’d like to point out
that, on my watch, we have never been taken to court
or successfully challenged. What I have noticed is that
many people and businesses bypass traditional PR or
communications advisors and reach straight for the
menacing lawyer.
This is a mistake. I can think of several occasions where
I might very well have reacted reasonably to a polite
phone call pointing out a client’s perspective and asking
for a modest clari昀椀cation or shift in emphasis: I am a
reasonable man. But I cannot give in to threats and fury.
From the moment I read “we hereby demand the article is
removed immediately” my sinews stiffen. There’s always
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BOISDALELIFE.COM
ISSUE 24
