Eleanor Mills (journalist)

Eleanor Mills (born 1970) is a British journalist formerly associated with The Sunday Times and The Times. She was the editorial director of The Sunday Times and editor of its magazine until March 2020.[1] Mills was employed by Times Newspapers for 22 years.[2]

Born and raised in Camden, north London,[3] she is the daughter of the corporate solicitor David Mills from his first marriage. She was educated at St Paul's Girls' and Westminster schools.[4] Mills read English at Brasenose College, Oxford, from 1989.[5]

After graduating from Oxford University in 1992, Mills' first job was on Tank World magazine, a publication which covered the transportation of liquids.[6] She later trained at The Observer, the only female trainee in the newsroom at that time.[4]

Mills joined The Sunday Times in 1998 from The Daily Telegraph, where she was their youngest ever features editor at 26.[6][7] She became editor of the Saturday edition of The Times in August 2008, replacing George Brock,[8] but returned to the Sunday title as associate editor, and a columnist, less than a year later.[9] Editorial director of The Sunday Times since June 2012, she became the editor of The Sunday Times Magazine (in succession to Sarah Baxter) in September 2015.[10] Mills left her roles as Sunday Times magazine editor and editorial director in March 2020.[2]

She co-edited (with Kira Cochrane) Cupcakes and Kalashnikovs: 100 Years of the Best Journalism by Women,[11] published as Journalistas: 100 Years of the Best Writing and Reporting by Women Journalists in the United States.[12] Mills succeeded Jane Martinson as chair of the Women in Journalism campaigning group at the end of 2013.[13] She left this role in 2021,[14] and was succeeded by Daily Mirror editor Alison Phillips.[15]

On 8 March 2021, International Women's Day, Mills launched Noon, an online media platform and community for middle-aged women.[16] "Older women are very much the demographic the mainstream media forgot; one of the last bastions for diversity", she wrote in a blog post for the Society of Editors.[17] In late March 2021, she resigned from the Board of the Society of Editors because of its response to a statement from the organisation's (now former) Executive director who had claimed the British media was not racist. It had been disputed by Mills and others when issued earlier in the month.[18]

Mills is married with two daughters.

Bibliography

  • Mills, Eleanor; Cochrane, Kira, eds. (2005). Cupcakes and Kalashnikovs: 100 Years of the Best Journalism by Women. London: Constable. ISBN 978-1845291655. (US edition: Mills, Eleanor; Cochrane, Kira, eds. (2005). Journalistas : 100 years of the best writing and reporting by women journalists. New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 978-0786716678.

References

  1. ^ "Eleanor Mills: Editorial Director, The Sunday Times". News UK. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  2. ^ a b Mayhew, Freddy (5 March 2020). "Eleanor Mills leaves Sunday Times month after paper hires new editor". Press Gazette. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  3. ^ "How We Did It". The Sunday Times. 8 March 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2020. (subscription required)
  4. ^ a b Biography in Cupcakes and Kalashnikovs: 100 Years of the Best Journalism by Women
  5. ^ "Brazen Futures" (PDF). Brazen Notes. Spring 2013. p. 8. Retrieved 16 February 2017. The source uses the phrase "Trinity term".
  6. ^ a b Bruce, Robert (10 July 2015). "10 Questions With Sunday Times Editorial Director, Eleanor Mills". News Academy. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  7. ^ Boyle, Darren (21 November 2013). "Eleanor Mills appointed chair of Women in Journalism". Press Gazette. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  8. ^ Brook, Stephen (1 August 2008). "Times confirms Eleanor Mills as new Saturday editor". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  9. ^ Dowell, Ben (11 June 2009). "The Times's Saturday editor Eleanor Mills returns to Sunday Times". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  10. ^ "Rebekah Brooks, George Osborne and Charlotte Proudman". The Guardian. 13 September 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  11. ^ Silvester, Christopher (2 October 2005). "Cupcakes and Kalashnikovs edited by Eleanor Mills and Kira Cochrane". The Sunday Times. London. Retrieved 21 August 2020. (subscription required)
  12. ^ Abramson, Jill (8 January 2006). "The Lionesses". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  13. ^ Greenslade, Roy (21 November 2013). "Mills to chair Women in Journalism". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  14. ^ Mills, Eleanor (13 March 2021). "A woman's life doesn't end at 40 – so why does society make us feel that way?". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  15. ^ Brown, Mariella (9 February 2021). "Mirror editor Alison Phillips takes over as WIJ chair". Society of Editors. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  16. ^ Kiefer, Brittaney (10 March 2021). "'Refinery49 not 29': Times veteran Eleanor Mills sets out mission to reach 'forgotten' demographic". Campaign. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  17. ^ Mills, Eleanor (8 March 2021). "Eleanor Mills launches media platform to empower women in midlife". Society of Editors. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  18. ^ Ponsford, Dominic (26 March 2021). "Eleanor Mills resigns from Society of Editors board and condemns 'structural racism' in UK media". Press Gazette. Retrieved 26 March 2021.