Society of Editors

The Editor-in-Chief of HuffPost UK has joined the line-up for the Society of Editors conference in Manchester in November.

Polly Curtis (pictured below), Editor since August 2017, will join a panel session on Monday 5 November to discuss new initiatives to provide trusted content. A former digital editor at the Guardian, Curtis led online plans for the Scottish and EU referendums and the 2015 general election, as well as live coverage of the Paris and Brussels terror attacks. She was also previously deputy national editor at the Guardian, helping to run the newsroom. Prior to her position at HuffPost UK, Polly was Director of Media for British Red Cross during a time that included the organisation’s largest emergency response in decades, as they operationalised after the Manchester bombing, London Bridge and Finsbury Park attacks and at Grenfell.

HuffPost UK currently has the joint 2nd highest reach of a digital news brand, just behind the BBC according to the Digital News Report 2017 and averages 11m UVs monthly.

The event, a must-attend in the media calendar, will take place at the iconic Lowry Hotel and will focus this year on The Trust Factor – and How to Fund it. Paul Dacre, who announced he was stepping aside as Editor this year after 26-years at the helm of the Daily Mail, will deliver the prestigious Society of Editors Lecture on the evening of Sunday 4 November. Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright MP will address delegates on Monday 5 November alongside Katharine Viner, Editor-in-chief of The Guardian and Lloyd Embley, Group Editor-in-Chief of Reach plc.

Other confirmed speakers include John Battle, Head of Compliance at ITN, Darren Thwaites, Editor-in-Chief of the Manchester Evening News, Joy Yates, Editorial Director at Johnston Press North East and Tristan Kirk, Courts Reporter at the London Evening Standard. John Battle, Tristan Kirk and Joy Yates will take part in a panel discussion looking at court coverage while Darren Thwaites will join a session exploring whether the media is effectively holding the powerful to account or whether it is losing public trust.

Ian Murray, Executive Director of the Society of Editors said: “Manchester is shaping up to once again ensure the Society of Editors annual conference is the must- attend event in the media calendar.”

Booking is open for the conference and members can take advantage of rates of £549 +VAT for full conference and accommodation. Full conference including accommodation for non-members is £599+VAT. More information on the conference can be found here.