Matt Nixson

Matt Nixson is a British journalist, PR executive and author.[1]

Matt Nixson
Born
Manchester, England
NationalityBritish
OccupationJournalist, author, PR executive.

Early life

Born in Manchester, Nixson grew up in Disley, Cheshire, and attended Poynton County High School.

Education

He attended the University of Warwick (1992-1995) where he studied English and American Literature and ran the Offbeat music society,[2] as well as creating and DJing at Supersonic, a Student's Union indie disco, for two years.

Career

After starting his newspaper career in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, Nixson returned to the UK in 1997 and worked for a number of local, regional and national newspapers including the Hendon & Finchley Times, Brighton Argus, Evening Standard, Mail on Sunday, before joining News International in January 2005.

He worked as Features Editor for The News of the World (Jan 2005 - Dec 2010) before being promoted to Head of Features on The Sun (Jan 2011 - July 2011).[3]

In 2012 Nixson began working in PR, initially looking after the family of Stockwell shooting victim Thusha Kamleswaran. In June 2012, he joined AOB PR. He returned to Associated Newspapers in January 2013 and has worked in a series of senior roles, most recently as Books Editor for the Mail on Sunday.

Nixson was dismissed from News International in July 2011 at the height of the phone hacking scandal[4] but was told six weeks later that he was of no interest to police investigating allegations of wrongdoing at the company.[5] Media commentator Roy Greenslade revealed in his blog that, four months after his dismissal, Nixson had still not been given a reason for his sacking. However, Greenslade wrote "I have been given information about the reason for his dismissal. It involves a payment though I cannot disclose the details. However, I do know - as the police decision confirms - that it did not involve illegality".[6] It later emerged Nixson had allegedly sanctioned a payment for a story about jailed Soham killer Ian Huntley.[7]

With the support of the NUJ, Nixson subsequently launched legal action against News International for wrongful dismissal, stating that he had never engaged in phone hacking or any other illicit newsgathering activities.[8]

In July 2012 Press Gazette featured Nixson's case in an article entitled "Why has NI put Nixson in suspended animation?".[9] Writing a few days later, Editor Dominic Ponsford revealed the story had "generated the most impassioned response of any story I've worked on at Press Gazette" with "some 150 comments (at the time of writing)".[10] Ponsford wrote that "Journalists from across the industry have put their heads above the parapet with signed comments testifying to Nixson’s professionalism and urging the publisher to either reinstate him or settle the case – thereby allowing him get on with his life and support his family".

The story was subsequently taken up by Martin Bright on his The Spectator blog[11] and Roy Greenslade in The Guardian.[12] The Guardian also reported Nixson was in talks to return to The Sun.[13] On 4 October 2012 Press Gazette reported the case had been settled, with Nixson saying in a statement: "I am particularly grateful to the many journalists, former colleagues and friends in the press, including at News International, who have provided incredible support to me and my family over the last year.”[14] In his Guardian blog, commentator Roy Greenslade wrote: "We cannot know how much Nixson got from News International but I am certain his lawyers performed well on his behalf. The company paid him compensation and his costs, and Press Gazette is suggesting it could have cost the publisher as much as £1m."[15]

Personal

Nixson was born in Manchester and brought up in Cheshire.

He is married with one daughter and one son and lives in South London.

References
  1. Diane Banks Associates. "Author Profile", Retrieved on 10 September 2012.
  2. University of Warwick. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 December 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) "Offbeat", Retrieved 10 September 2012
  3. Greenslade, Roy "Journalists line up to support sacked Sun executive" The Guardian, 27 July 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012
  4. Porter, Andrew. "The Sun dragged into scandal after senior journalist sacked" The Telegraph, 21 July 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2012
  5. Robinson, James. "Sacked Sun journalist will not face police questioning" The Guardian, 20 September 2011. Retrieved on 10 September 2012
  6. Greenslade, Roy. The Guardian, 11 November 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2012
  7. Halliday, Josh & O'Carroll, Lisa. The Guardian, 13 January 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012
  8. Burrell, Ian. "Sacked features editor sues News International" The Independent, 17 November 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2012
  9. Ponsford, Dominic. "Why has NI put Nixson in suspended animation?" Archived 27 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine Press Gazette, 24 July 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012
  10. Ponsford, Dominic. "Will NI be moved by surge of support for sacked Sun features editor Matt Nixson?" Archived 2 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine Press Gazette, 27 July 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012
  11. Bright, Martin. "The unusual case of Matt Nixson, the hack with the big heart" The Spectator, 30 July 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012
  12. Greenslade, Roy "Journalists line up to support sacked Sun executive" The Guardian, 27 July 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012
  13. Halliday, Josh. "Matt Nixson in talks to return to Sun" The Guardian, 27 July 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012
  14. Ponsford, Dominic. "Victory for former Sun features editor Matt Nixson in News Corp sacking dispute" Press Gazette, 4 October 2012. Retrieved on 5 October 2012.
  15. Greenslade, Roy. "Why did Matt Nixson have to wait so long for a settlement?" The Guardian, 4 October 2012. Retrieved on 5 October 2012.
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