History
The Society of Editors was formed by a merger of the Guild of Editors and the Association of British Editors in April 1999.The Guild was established by regional and local newspaper editors in 1946.
The Association of British Editors was formed in 1985 to establish an organisation for editors that was independent of proprietors and which would attract members from national newspapers and other media. Some of its members remained members of the Guild.
The two organisations merged to form one body that could represent editors in all sectors of the media and which was entirely independent of any other organisation.
It maintains close links with other media organisations, working together on common causes. It is independent of the Editors’ Code Committee and the Press Complaints Commission but society members sit on both bodies in their individual capacities. One of the key objectives of the society is to support and maintain self-regulation of the press.