Michael Bennett Randall (12 August 1919 – 10 December 1999), known as Mike Randall, was a British

newspaper editor An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

Life

Randall was educated at St Peter's School, Seaford, and

Canford School Canford School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18). Situated in 300 acres of parkland near to the market town of Wimborne Minster in Dorset, south west England, it is one of the larges ...

.'Randall, Michael Bennett', in ''The International Who's Who 1991-92'' (Europa Publishing, 1991), p. 1,333 He worked as a shipping clerk in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in his youth, then returned to the United Kingdom at the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and took a job as a journalist at the ''

Daily Sketch The ''Daily Sketch'' was a British national tabloid newspaper, founded in Manchester in 1909 by Sir Edward Hulton. It was bought in 1920 by Lord Rothermere's Daily Mirror Newspapers, but in 1925 Rothermere sold it to William and Gomer Berr ...

''. In 1941, he moved to the ''

Sunday Graphic The ''Sunday Graphic'' was an English tabloid newspaper published in Fleet Street. The newspaper was founded in 1915 as the ''Sunday Herald'' and was later renamed the ''Illustrated Sunday Herald''. In 1927 it changed its name to the ''Sunday ...

'', rising to become its editor in 1953. However, he soon left to become an assistant features editor with the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its Masthead (British publishing), masthead was simpl ...

'', and in 1956 moved on to the ''

News Chronicle The ''News Chronicle'' was a British daily newspaper. Formed by the merger of '' The Daily News'' and the ''Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, it ceased publication on 17 October 1960,''Liberal Democrat News'' 15 October 2010, accessed 15 October 2010 b ...

''. This paper merged with the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'', when Randall joined the ''Mail'', and he became its editor in 1963, after serving as deputy editor.Michael Leapman,
Obituary: Mike Randall
, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', 14 December 1999 Randall aimed to take the ''Mail'' upmarket, introducing more

investigative journalism Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years res ...

and attract younger readers with a more liberal position. However, the paper lost readers, and Randall was replaced as editor in 1966 while he was on sick leave. He joined the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

'' as Managing Editor (News), assisting Editor Harold Evans and co-ordinating investigations. In 1969,

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, Parliament of the United Kingdom, member of parliament (MP), suspected spy, and fraudster. Early i ...

asked Randall to edit '' The Sun'' if he was successful in purchasing it, but the deal did not go ahead, and Randall instead retired from the ''Sunday Times'' in 1979. In semi-retirement, Randall worked as a fruit picker and on a mushroom farm, while involving himself in the launch of the '' Sunday Standard''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Randall, Mike 1919 births 1999 deaths English newspaper editors People educated at Canford School People educated at St Peter's School, Seaford English male journalists The Sunday Times people