Archie Bland

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Archie Bland
Born
James Franklin Archibald Bland

(1983-10-07) 7 October 1983 (age 40)
Abbots Worthy, Hampshire, England
Education Winchester College
(independent boys' boarding school)
Alma mater Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Occupation(s)Journalist, editor, author
Employer The Guardian
Spouse
Ruth Spencer
​
(m. 2019)​
Parent(s) Christopher Bland
Jennifer May
Family Georgia Byng (half-sister)
Jamie Byng (half-brother)

James Franklin Archibald "Archie" Bland [1] (born 7 October 1983), [2] is a British newspaper journalist who writes the Guardian's daily morning newsletter First Edition. [3]

Contents

Bland was previously the deputy editor of The Independent , a national British newspaper, a post to which he was appointed in April 2012, at the age of 28. [4] He was also the editor of the Saturday edition of The Independent. He was one of the youngest people to have ever been appointed to a senior editorial post in the British national newspaper industry, described as "easily the youngest deputy editor in the paper's history, the youngest in national newspapers today and perhaps ever on Fleet Street". [4]

Early life

Bland was born in 1983, the only child of Sir Christopher Bland, [5] the former chairman of the BBC's Board of Governors (the forerunner of the BBC Trust), British Telecom, the Royal Shakespeare Company, [6] London Weekend Television and a number of other companies, [7] as well as Deputy Chairman of the former Independent Broadcasting Authority, [7] and Lady Bland (née Jennifer Mary Denise May), [8] the daughter of William May, a former Northern Irish Minister for Education. [9]

Bland is the half-brother of four siblings, through his mother's earlier marriage to Thomas Edmund Byng, the 8th Earl of Strafford, among whom are the author Georgia Byng and Jamie Byng, the owner of publishing house Canongate Books. [8]

Education

Between the years 1997–2002, [10] Bland was educated at Winchester College, [11] a boarding independent school for boys in Winchester in Hampshire, where he stayed at Boarding House I, [10] known as Turner's (and informally as Hopper's). [12] At Winchester, Bland obtained four A*s, three A's and two B's at GCSE, [11] followed by Emmanuel College, Cambridge, at which he became the editor of Varsity , the student newspaper of the university. [13] He was named Guardian Student Columnist of the Year in 2004 (part of the Guardian Student Media Award), for his work as Varsity's Editor, [14] and elected to a Senior Exhibition in the years 2004 – 2005, [10] gaining a First in English Literature (BA). He received the Fulbright Alistair Cooke Award in Journalism [15] (part of the Fulbright Program) for 2006–7, a scholarship which enabled him to study at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City, from which he received a master's degree in Journalism in 2007. [16] He graduated from Columbia with Honors, receiving the School's Henry N. Taylor Award. [17]

Life and career

Bland joined The Independent on Sunday newspaper in 2007 as a graphics researcher. In October 2010 he became Foreign Editor, replacing Katherine Butler, and Deputy Editor of the paper in April 2012. [4] He was a regular columnist in the Independent, and a contributor to the Columbia Journalism Review . [18]

In July 2013, Bland took up a new role as senior writer at both The Independent and The Independent on Sunday newspapers, [19] and in September 2014, he joined The Guardian newspaper. He later became Deputy National Editor of The Guardian before taking up his role writing the newsletter. [3]

Bland won the last-ever episode of the BBC television game show The Weakest Link , in March 2012. [1] He had previously appeared on the programme in 2003, at the age of 19. [20]

In 2019, Bland married Canadian journalist Ruth Spencer.

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References

  1. 1 2 Bland, Archie (24 March 2012). "'You are the weakest link, goodbye!': What's it like to face Anne Robinson on the cult quiz show?". The Independent. London. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  2. ↑ "Gorkana". gorkana.com. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Archie Bland". Muckrack.com. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 Pugh, Andrew (3 April 2012). "Archie Bland becomes Indy's youngest deputy editor". Press Gazette. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  5. ↑ Martinson, Jane (10 February 2006). "Interview: Sir Christopher Bland". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  6. ↑ Who's Who – Sir Christopher Bland Published by: Royal Shakespeare Company. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  7. 1 2 Marianne Macdonald (14 January 1996). "Auntie in his pocket". The Independent . Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  8. 1 2 The Peerage
  9. ↑ Rt. Hon. William Morrison May The Peerage.Com Date: 1 March 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  10. 1 2 3 The Trusty Servant (No.98) Page 12: Old Wykehamist News (first entry on p.12) Published by: Wykehamist Society of Winchester College. Date: November 2004. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
  11. 1 2 "Varsity Showdown (page 7)" (PDF). Varsity (student newspaper), University of Cambridge. 28 January 2005. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  12. ↑ "Boarding at Winchester – I. Turner's (Hopper's)". Winchester College, Hants. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  13. ↑ Cambridge – Kebab shop is spared from closure BBC News Date: 7 October 2004. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
  14. ↑ Remember my name – Student columnist of the year. Winner: Archie Bland, Varsity Published by: The Guardian newspaper. Date: 15 November 2004. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  15. ↑ Contributors – Archie Bland Archived 11 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine The New York Review of Magazines. Date: 2007. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  16. ↑ Source:  Independent (UK). "Archie Bland: The Big Question ... How important was Charles Darwin, and what is his legacy today? | History News Network". Hnn.us. Archived from the original on 7 December 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  17. ↑ "The Daily Plan-it / Dean of Students Blog, Columbia J-school :: May :: 2007". Archived from the original on 31 October 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  18. ↑ Murdoch's Hacking Scandal Published by: Columbia Journalism Review. Author: Ryan Chittum. Date: 6 May 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  19. ↑ "Archie Bland". The Independent. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012.
  20. ↑ As Robinson says 'Goodbye', our man Archie wins the last Weakest Link Source: The Independent newspaper Date: 2 April 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2012
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