NMA Chairman Pays Tribute To Outgoing CEO David Newell

News Media Association chairman Henry Faure Walker has paid tribute to the achievements of David Newell at the outgoing NMA chief executive’s final NMA annual general meeting today.

Addressing the meeting of NMA members this morning, Mr Faure Walker welcomed incoming chief executive Owen Meredith who starts a month-long handover period with Mr Newell next week before his retirement at the end of June.    

Mr Faure Walker thanked Mr Newell for his enormous contribution to the industry during his career at the NMA and formerly the Newspaper Society which he joined in 1984, as legal consultant and then head of parliamentary and legal affairs.  

Mr Faure Walker said: “David Newell has dedicated much of his life to campaigning for the press freedom issues which underpin our democracy, fighting to ensure open justice, freedom of information and a strong and vibrant news media industry.”

Mr Newell was appointed to head up the organisation as its director in 1997 and 10 years later, in 2007, he also became director of the Newspaper Publishers Association, representing the nationals. He oversaw the successful merger of the two organisations to create the NMA in November 2014.

Mr Newell has served on many organisations here in the UK, in Europe, and at an international level, including the Advertising Association, the Law Society, News Media Europe, ENPA, the Commonwealth Press Union and the World Association of Newspapers.

He is the longest serving director of Asbof, the funding body for the ASA, where he has fought for advertising freedoms and self-regulation, having served for over 20 years on the Board. He played a vital role, alongside LPRA chairman Lord Black of Brentwood, in the formation of News Media Europe in 2016 as a new voice for European news media publishers.

Throughout his career Mr Newell has been a champion for press freedom, defending the industry from attempts to impose statutory regulation of the press following both the Calcutt and Leveson Inquiries. He was awarded an OBE in 2017 for services to the newspaper and publishing industry.

Mr Newell has also led successful campaigns to liberalise media ownership laws, enabling local and regional newspaper companies to become multimedia companies. He has fought to protect commercial freedom of speech and to ensure industry support for advertising self-regulation. He has campaigned both in the UK and EU on important areas such as copyright and employment law.