Former Diary editor takes to arms

If proof is needed that association with the Diary can lead to greatness, look no further than Richard Addis.

Addis, former editor of the Diary as well as the small matter of The Express, is editing The Globe and Mail in Toronto, Canada. And he is taking on a formidable foe in Conrad Black, chairman and chief executive of publisher Hollinger, which owns Globe rival, the National Post.

A bitter circulation war has broken out, with Addis writing in his paper’s 2000 performance review that Conrad Black has made “laughable claims about profits, circulation and politics”.

Hope the sense of humour Addis showed at the Diary – which he calls “the most distinguished chair in British journalism” – sees him through the battle!