Peter Preston, who died on Saturday, embodied some of the best qualities not just of this paper, but of journalism more widely. By hard work and personal example he showed how a newspaper could change and improve without losing touch with its roots. During his editorship of the Guardian, he introduced to a rather self-important paper a light touch that was not merely superficial. His position as an outsider, not a metropolitan and never a member of the gilded elite, made him respectful of power without being dazzled by it. But the link between personal and political values is what ultimately makes politics credible and no one ever doubted his integrity.

Source: The Guardian January 07, 2018 18:56 UTC