Rebekah Wade

Rebekah Wade (born 27 May 1968 in Cheshire, England) is a British journalist and newspaper editor. She is currently editor of Rupert Murdoch's "The Sun" newspaper. She is married to - although currently separated from - the actor Ross Kemp.

Career in journalism

Wade decided she wanted to be a journalist from the age of fourteen.cite news
title = Rebekah Wade: Profile
publisher = BBC News
date = 2003-01-13
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1714303.stm
accessdate = 2007-10-12] After attending Appleton Hall County Grammar School in Warrington,cite news
last = Irvine
first = Ian
title = Rebekah Wade: The feisty first lady of Wapping
publisher = The Independent
date = 2005-11-05
url = http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/article325000.ece
accessdate = 2007-10-12] she worked for the French magazine "L'architecture d'aujourd'hui" in Paris, before returning to Britain to work for Eddie Shah's Messenger Group. In Wade's entry in "Who's Who" she states that she studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, but since she was working at the age of 20 for the "News of the World", it is unlikely that she did a full degree there. [cite news
last = Glover
first = Stephen
title = Is it my imagination, or is the Sun getting smuttier?
publisher = The Independent
date = 2003-02-01
url = http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3724/is_200302/ai_n9200502
accessdate = 2007-10-12]

She joined the "News of the World" in 1989 as a secretary, and rose through the ranks, first as a feature writer for its 'Sunday' magazine, before eventually becoming the paper's deputy editor. In 1998 she transferred to the "News of the World"'s weekday counterpart, "The Sun", to become its deputy editor, where she reportedly attempted to persuade David Yelland to get rid of the Page Three Girls.cite news
title = Rebekah scores over the lads
publisher = BBC News
date = 2000-05-24
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/761880.stm
accessdate = 2007-10-12] This was unsuccessful, and almost a decade later, Page Three is still very much alive. She then returned to the "News of the World" in 2000 as editor; at the time, she was the youngest editor of a national British newspaper.cite news
title = The Media Guardian 100: 53. Rebekah Wade
publisher = The Guardian
date = 2002-07-08
url = http://media.guardian.co.uk/top100_2002/story/0,,744473,00.html
accessdate = 2007-10-12]

While at the "News of the World", she oversaw its controversial campaign of "naming and shaming" convicted child sex offenders, after the murder of Sarah Payne. [cite news
title = Paper defends paedophile campaign
publisher = BBC News
date = 2001-12-16
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1713905.stm
accessdate = 2007-10-12] The paper's decision led to angry mobs terrorising those they suspected of being child sex offenders, [cite news
title = Police condemn vigilante violence
publisher = BBC News
date = 2000-08-04
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/865633.stm
accessdate = 2007-10-12] which included several cases of mistaken identity and one instance where a paediatrician had her house vandalised. [cite news
title = Vigilante attack on innocent man
publisher = BBC News
date = 2000-07-25
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/848737.stm
accessdate = 2007-10-12] [cite news
title = Paediatrician attacks 'ignorant' vandals
publisher = BBC News
date = 2000-08-30
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/901723.stm
accessdate = 2007-10-12] The campaign was labelled "grossly irresponsible" journalism by the then Chief Constable of Gloucestershire, Tony Butler, but Wade defended the paper's actions in a rare interview on the BBC's Breakfast with Frost, stating that it was "only right that the public have controlled access" to information on sex offenders. [cite news
title = BBC Breakfast with Frost Interview: Rebekah Wade: Editor, News of the World
publisher = BBC News
date = 2001-12-16
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast_with_frost/1714199.stm
accessdate = 2007-10-12] The paper's already strong sales held up well under her leadership, while those of rival Sunday newspapers The People and the Sunday Mirror fell more sharply.cite news
last = Greenslade
first = Roy
authorlink = Roy Greenslade
title = Empress of the Sun
publisher = The Guardian
date = 2003-01-14
url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,874340,00.html
accessdate = 2007-10-12]

In January 2003, she moved back to "The Sun", replacing her former boss David Yelland, to become its first female editor. On Wade's first day as editor the Page Three girl was Rebekah Parmar-Teasdale - the caption to the picture was "Rebekah from Wapping". Soon after becoming editor, Wade ran the headline "Bonkers Bruno Locked Up" about the former heavyweight boxing champion Frank Bruno and his mental health problems. The next day the Sun ran a 600 word reply from the head of the mental health charity Sane, and since then has adopted a style guide on covering mental health stories prepared by the same charity. Wade and her husband spent a day with the head of Sane and made donations to the charity. [cite news
last = Gibson
first = Owen
coauthors = Byrne, Ciar
title = Sun makes donation to charity after Bruno gaffe
publisher = The Guardian
date = 2003-09-24
url = http://media.guardian.co.uk/presspublishing/story/0,,1048615,00.html
accessdate = 2007-10-12] [cite news
last = Mitchell
first = Kevin
title = Totally Frank
publisher = The Observer
date = 2004-06-06
url = http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,6903,1229681,00.html
accessdate = 2007-10-12]

During a March 2003 appearance before the House of Commons Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport as part of an inquiry into privacy issues, Wade stated that her newspaper had paid police officers for information.cite news
last = Wells
first = Matt
title = Sun editor admits paying police officers for stories
publisher = The Guardian
date = 2003-03-12
url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,912442,00.html
accessdate = 2007-10-12] Alison Clark, the director of corporate affairs at News International, later stated: "It is not company practice to pay police for information."

Wade has been chairman of the organisation Women in Journalism, and has served as a judge for the "Guardian Student Media Awards" in November 2003 [cite news
last = Kiss
first = Jemima
title = Blunt: a cut above the rest
publisher = journalism.co.uk
date = 2003-11-13
url = http://www.journalism.co.uk/2/articles/5762.php
accessdate = 2007-10-12] and the tenth annual Police Bravery Awards in July 2005, the latter of which was sponsored by "The Sun". [cite press release
title = Gloucestershire Officer Victorious In 10th Bravery Awards
publisher = Police Federation of England and Wales
date = 2005-07-14
url = http://www.polfed.org/Region6.pdf
accessdate = 2007-10-12]

Personal life

Wade became engaged to actor Ross Kemp (best known as Grant Mitchell in EastEnders) in 1996. Wade's father had not met or spoken to Kemp at the time that he proposed. [cite news
title = Soap star Ross to marry girl from Warrington
publisher = Warrington Guardian
date = 1996-07-26
url = http://archive.thisischeshire.co.uk/1996/07/26/253675.html
accessdate = 2007-10-12] Wade and Kemp married in June 2002 in Las Vegas.cite news
title = Editor free after Kemp 'assault'
publisher = BBC News
date = 2005-11-03
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4403026.stm
accessdate = 2007-10-12] On 3 November 2005, it was reported that Wade had been arrested following an alleged assault on her husband. She was later released without charge and the police took no further action. "The Sun" had been running a campaign against domestic violence at the time. The couple had spent the previous evening in the company of the former Cabinet Minister David Blunkett, who had resigned for the second time on that day. [cite news
last = Sheppard
first = Fergus
title = Script too surreal even for EastEnders
publisher = The Scotsman
date = 2005-11-04
url = http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=2191552005
accessdate = 2007-10-12]

It has been mentioned in publications including "Private Eye" and "The Independent" [cite news
last = Street-Porter
first = Janet
authorlink = Janet Street-Porter
title = Editor-At-Large: A cover-up: Hold the front page for Ross and Rebekah
publisher = The Independent
date = 2007-04-29
url = http://comment.independent.co.uk/columnists/janet_street_porter/article2494228.ece
accessdate = 2007-10-12] that the couple have separated. This has not been widely reported in the British press. In the March 7th 2008 issue of Private Eye they refer to her "paramour" former racehorse trainer and author [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crossing-Line-World-Racing-Revealed/dp/0747260923 Charlie Brooks]

Wade was at one time considered to be a friend of Tony and Cherie Blair, [cite news
last = Riddell
first = Mary
title = What does the Sun say now?
publisher = The Guardian
date = 2005-11-06
url = http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,14173,1635534,00.html
accessdate = 2007-10-12] as well as Sheryl Gascoigne, the ex-wife of footballer Paul Gascoigne. She also attended the Prince of Wales' 50th birthday party.

ee also

* News Corporation
* News Limited
* Rupert Murdoch

References