Dennis Hackett

Dennis Hackett (5 February 1929 – 23 August 2016) was a British magazine and newspaper editor.

Hackett grew up in Sheffield, where he attended De La Salle College, then entered journalism with the Sheffield Telegraph in 1945. He spent 1947 to 1949 in national service with the Royal Navy, then resumed his career, joining the Daily Herald in 1954, then quickly moving to Illustrated, where he was Deputy Editor. In 1958, he moved again to the Daily Express, then the Daily Mail, before becoming Art Editor on The Observer.^[1]

Joining Queen as Deputy Editor in 1962, Hackett later served as Editor but was poached by Nova in 1965. He stood down in 1969, holding numerous positions during the 1970s, including a directorship of IPC Newspapers and an associate editorship of the Daily Express, while writing books on the Bemrose Corporation and Ford Motor Company.^[1]

In the 1980s, Hackett became a television critic, working first at The Times, then for The Tablet. As a consultant, he organised the launch of You, the Mail on Sunday's colour supplement,^[2] then moved to Today, acting as Editor-in-Chief for a period in 1987. He had some success in the role, calling for tactical voting in the 1987 general election, to benefit the Social Democratic Party.^[3] However, he soon left to become editor of M, The Observer's colour supplement, then in the early 1990s was editor of Management Today.^[1]

Hackett died on 23 August 2016 at the age of 87.^[4]

References

1. "HACKETT, Dennis William", Who Was Who
2. Roy Greenslade, Press Gang: How Newspapers Make Profits from Propaganda, p.480
3. Roy Greenslade, Press Gang: How Newspapers Make Profits from Propaganda, p.481
4. Dennis Hackett obituary