Kelvin MacKenzie

Kelvin MacKenzie

Kelvin Calder MacKenzie (b. 22 Oct. 1946) is a former editor of The Sun (1981-1993). He is a close associate of Rupert Murdoch, the media mogul. Murdoch referred to MacKenzie as his "favourite editor".

Media commentator for The Guardian Roy Greenslade writes:

As editor of the Sun for 12 years, from 1981, MacKenzie was the master of publicity stunts that turned politicians from all parties into a laughing stock. He launched venomous attacks on Neil Kinnock, Tony Benn and "Red" Ken Livingstone; and his paper was scathing about John Major, Norman Lamont and Michael Heseltine. Among its most memorable, and cruel, headlines were those concerning the private peccadilloes of ministers, such as David Mellor ("From toe job to no job") and Tim Yeo ("Off Yeo go, you dirty so and so).

Career

• March 2006 - : Presenter, BBC Radio Five Live
• 2006 - 2007: Chairman, Media Square plc.
• 2005: MacKenzie took over Highbury House Communications
• 1998 MacKenzie headed a consortium (TalkCo Holdings) which purchased Talk Radio
• 1995 - 1997: Mirror Group Newspapers to head L!VE TV.
• 1994: BSkyB
• 1981 - 1993: Editor The Sun
• 1978 - 1981: Managing Editor New York Post (Murdoch)

Birmingham Six

The Birmingham Six were a group of six men wrongly sentenced to life in prison in 1975 for bombing a Birmingham pub. Kelvin MacKenzie was editor of The Sun in 1988 when the group lost an appeal hearing:

The Sun saw the judgement as an opportunity to declare open season on those who had campaigned for the case to be re-opened. The Sun's front page headline the next day read, LOONY MP BACKS BOMB GANG. An editorial said, 'If the Sun had its way, we would have been tempted to string 'em up years ago.'

Contact, References and Resources

Resources

• Wikipedia Profile