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Ian Mayes

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Ian Mayes
Occupation(s)Journalist, editor and author
Known forFirst newspaper "readers' editor"
Notable creditThe Guardian

Ian Mayes is a British journalist and editor. He was the first "readers' editor" – a title he invented for the newspaper ombudsman role[1] — of The Guardian, from November 1997 to March 2007,[2][3] and was president of the international Organization of News Ombudsmen from May 2005 to May 2007,[2][4] serving as a board member from May 2002[5] after joining in April 2001.[6] Mayes is the author of books including Witness in a Time of Turmoil: Inside the Guardian's Global Revolution, Volume 1, 1986–1995, published in May 2025.

Background

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Ian Mayes' career as a journalist spans six decades and includes many years as features editor of the Northampton Chronicle and Echo,[7] before he joined BBC Radio News in Broadcasting House (1979–87), then became assistant features editor of the short-lived London Daily News.[8]

Mayes began writing for The Guardian as a freelance in 1962, his first piece being a story on the features page (then edited by Brian Redhead) about the return of Laurie Lee to the village of Slad in Gloucestershire, where Cider with Rosie was set.[9] It was towards the end of 1988[8] that Mayes joined the staff of the newspaper; his first ten years included launching The Guardian Weekend magazine and the daily G2 section with former editor Alan Rusbridger, and time served as deputy features editor, arts editor and obituaries editor.

From November 1997 to March 2007, Mayes was The Guardian's Readers' Editor – a title he invented for the newspaper ombudsman role[1] to suggest a bridge between readers and journalists[10] — the first such appointment of a resident independent ombudsman in the UK.[2][3] Other British newspapers, including The Observer, The Independent on Sunday and the Daily Mirror, quickly followed suit in appointing readers' editors, although Mayes was the only one to do the job full-time.[11] The Guardian system was also closely replicated on newspapers such as Politiken in Denmark and The Hindu in India.[10]

Through an influential weekly column called "Open Door",[12] Mayes dealt with corrections and clarifications (14,000 in his decade in the post),[13] as well as conducting a debate on the ethics of journalism.[14][10] Selections from the columns were collected in four books: Corrections and Clarifications (2000), Corrections and Clarifications 2002 (2002), Only Correct: The Best of Corrections and Clarifications (2005) and Journalism Right and Wrong: Ethical and Other Issues Raised by Readers in the Guardian's Open Door Column. A translated selection of the columns was produced by Moscow State University under the title Rabota nad oshibkami (Work on mistakes).[10]

He was president of the international Organization of News Ombudsmen (ONO) from May 2005 to May 2007,[2][4] serving as a board member from May 2002,[5] after joining in April 2001.[6] He has lectured and taken part in seminars on the function of ombudsmen in the media nationally and internationally (including in the US, Russia, Scandinavia, and Slovenia),[8] inspiring newspapers in other parts of the world to create their own readers' editors; typically, The Hindu has referenced "the exemplary practice and experience of The Guardian, whose pioneering RE, Ian Mayes, had set the bar high."[15] He is credited with the discovery of the "apostrofly", "an insect which lands at random on the printed page depositing an apostrophe wherever it alights".[16][17] His last column as Readers' Editor appeared on 2 April 2007,[3] since when he has been an associate editor of The Guardian.[18]

He has been honoured by the creation of "The Ian Mayes Award for Writing Wrongs" in 2008.[19][20]

Mayes subsequently began researching and writing the third modern volume of the official history of The Guardian (following earlier books by David Ayerst and Geoffrey Taylor),[3][21][22] beginning in 1986, his aim being to "humanise the decisions that have shaped the Guardian and its editorial line".[9] Drawing on more than 100 interviews, Witness in a Time of Turmoil: Inside the Guardian's Global Revolution, Volume 1, 1986–1995 was published in ay 2025.[23][24]

Hazlitt Society

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Mayes was instrumental in the project to restore William Hazlitt's grave,[25] after visiting the original neglected gravestone in St Anne's Churchyard early in 2001.[26][27] The restored grave was unveiled by Michael Foot on the 225th anniversary of Hazlitt's birth, 10 April 2003.[28][29] Mayes was closely involved with the subsequent formation of the Hazlitt Society,[30] of which he was inaugural Chairman.[31]

Works

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Bibliography

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  • Samuel De Wilde, c.1751-1832: Theatre in Georgian and Regency London : George James De Wilde, 1804-1871, The life and times of Victorian Northampton: An exhibition at Northampton Central Art Gallery, 4 September to 2 October, 1971 (Northampton Museums and Art Gallery, 1971).
  • Corrections and Clarifications (Fourth Estate, 2000), ISBN 978-1-84115-608-8, and (Guardian Books, 2000), ISBN 978-1-84115-603-3
  • Corrections and Clarifications 2002 (Atlantic Books, 2002), ISBN 978-1-84354-173-8
  • Only Correct: The Best of Corrections and Clarifications (Guardian Books, 2005), ISBN 978-1-84354-465-4
  • Journalism Right and Wrong: Ethical and Other Issues Raised by Readers in the Guardian's Open Door Column (Guardian Books, February 2007), ISBN 978-0-00-719667-8
  • Witness in a Time of Turmoil: Inside the Guardian's Global Revolution, Volume 1, 1986–1995 (Guardian Books, 2025), ISBN 9781916204768

Selected articles

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Democracy, media and (cyber) ombudsmen", Organization of News Ombudsmen (ONO), 21 September 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d Mayes, Ian (6 November 2006). "Open Door: The readers' editor on ... his last annual report before handing over". The Guardian.
  3. ^ a b c d Mayes, Ian (2 April 2007). "Open Door: The ex-readers' editor on ... moving into Guardian history, without complaint". The Guardian.
  4. ^ a b ONO's Members Archived 9 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine Organization of News Ombudsmen
  5. ^ a b Mayes, Ian (11 May 2002). "Open Door: Word abroad". The Guardian.
  6. ^ a b Mayes, Ian (27 April 2001). "Open Door: Ono? Oh, yes". The Guardian.
  7. ^ Linford, Paul (25 March 2013). "National newsman's memories of ex-regional daily". Hold the Front Page. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  8. ^ a b c "Annex: A statement by Ian Mayes, Readers' Editor", Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport, www.parliament.co.uk.
  9. ^ a b Chris Elliott, "'I wanted to take you inside the paper' – a new history of the Guardian", The Guardian (Members area), 10 April 2017.
  10. ^ a b c d Mayes, Ian (22 October 2017). "Open Door | 'Why should newspapers not be accountable?'". The Guardian.
  11. ^ Ian Mayes, "Trust me — I’m an ombudsman"[permanent dead link], British Journalism Review, Archive.
  12. ^ David Nolan, "Public editors, 'media governance' and journalistic practice", School of Culture and Communication University of Melbourne, p. 7.
  13. ^ "Guardian readers' editor Ian Mayes talks to PG", Press Gazette, 5 January 2007.
  14. ^ "Newspapers and accountability", Department of Journalism Studies, The University of Sheffield, 30 November 2006.
  15. ^ Ram, N. (29 February 2016). "Holding the newspaper to account: A decade with our independent news ombudsmen". The Hindu. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  16. ^ Mayes, Ian (30 September 2002). "Open door: It's in its rightful place". The Guardian.
  17. ^ Mayes, Ian (4 December 2004). "Open door: The return of the apostrofly". The Guardian.
  18. ^ Ian Mayes page at The Guardian.
  19. ^ Silverman, Craig (19 December 2008). "The Year in Errata". Columbia Journalism Review.
  20. ^ Craig Silverman, Crunks 2008: The Year in Media Errors and Corrections, RegretTheError.com
  21. ^ "Writing wrongs: Guardian readers' editor Ian Mayes". Press Gazette. 12 January 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  22. ^ Chris Elliott, "The paper's relationship with its readers is unlike any other'", Press Reader, 8 April 2017.
  23. ^ "Witness in a Time of Turmoil". guardianbookshop.com. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  24. ^ Mayes, Ian (6 May 2025). "The long read | 'We know what is happening, we cannot walk away': how the Guardian bore witness to horror in former Yugoslavia". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  25. ^ Grayling, A. C. (21 April 2001). "A memorial for Hazlitt". The Guardian.
  26. ^ Ian Mayes, "Revival time", The Guardian, 5 May 2001, via Hazlitt Society.
  27. ^ Ian Mayes, "Hazlitt day", The Guardian, 30 December 2002, via Hazlitt Society.
  28. ^ John Ezard, "William Hazlitt's near-derelict grave restored", The Guardian, 11 April 2003; also at "Radical Solution: William Hazlitt's near derelict grave restored", Hazlitt Society.
  29. ^ "About the Hazlitt Society".
  30. ^ Mayes, Ian (24 July 2006). "The readers' editor on ... an invitation to admirers of William Hazlitt". The Guardian.
  31. ^ Uttara Natarajan, "Editor's Note", The Hazlitt Review, Vol. 10, 2017.
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