John Blake (journalist)

John Blake (born 6 November 1948) is a British journalist and publisher.

Blake first came to prominence in the early 1970s as a pop columnist for "The Evening News" in London. His work developed into a column titled "Ad Lib", an early example of a celebrity gossip column and lifestyle guide which survived the merger of "The Evening News" with the "Evening Standard".

Head-hunted by "The Sun", the UK's leading tabloid daily, Blake launched 'Bizarre', a page that took celebrity gossip to a new level and established much of today's UK media obsession with the topic.

A tug-of-war ensued over Blake between "The Sun" owner Rupert Murdoch and "Daily Mirror" owner Robert Maxwell. Maxwell won the bidding war and Blake became editor of Maxwell's "Sunday People", an appointment that lasted until Maxwell suddenly decided he wished to appoint Britain's first female national newspaper editor. Blake found himself President of the Mirror Group in the USA in the run-up to Maxwell's anticipated purchase of the "National Enquirer", a job which imploded when Maxwell failed to complete the deal. He resolved to enjoy his hobby of sailing, with occasional contributions as a TV writer in the "Daily Mail". He also wrote a book about the Rolling Stones's drug dealer "Spanish Tony" Sanchez.

Subsequently, he was lured into publishing and incorporated John Blake Publishing. Blake enlisted the help of his criminal contacts and set up his controversial true crime series. His first number one bestseller was "The Guv'nor" with Lenny McLean and Peter Gerrard. This title, voted best biography of 1998, created a genre that helped John Blake Publishing extend into leisure, fiction and other sectors. After the murder of two ten year old girls in Soham, Blake published the controversial book "Beyond Evil". In 2004 the company published "Being Jordan" by Katie Price, which became the fastest selling autobiography ever. In 2005 the company was voted Small Publisher Of The Year.

John Blake lives beside the River Thames near London with his wife Diane.

External links

* [http://www.blake.co.uk Company website]

* [http://www.danutakean.com/blog/?p=51 Respected publishing commentator Danuta Kean interview] with John Blake.