Recognised today as one of the UK’s leading leadership speakers, Pete is known for his leadership roles at the BBC, Microsoft, and PA Media. He has overseen some of the most significant shifts in the industry — from launching the BBC News and Sport websites to coordinating national coverage of historic events, including the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
In this exclusive interview with Champions Speakers Agency, Pete reflects on his early days as a local reporter, the resilience and relationships that shaped his rise, and the lessons he now shares with audiences as one of the UK’s most respected voices in digital journalism.
Q: You started out writing to the Chronicle and Echo for work experience. How did that first step in Northampton shape the career that eventually led you to head up the Press Association?
Pete Clifton: “Well, it's been quite a journey – over 43 years. I began on my local paper in Northampton. Always wanted to be a journalist. Sent loads of articles to the paper and eventually got work experience and a job there. And I guess from there I've never really planned massively ahead. It's all been about working as hard as I can, giving it my all, and just opportunities come along over time.
“I think I've learned over time that, you know, you get some lucky breaks. You get some breaks from people that you get to know. You get breaks from sometimes doing sideways moves into different jobs and you get loads of pushbacks along the way. But I guess over time you get hardened to those. You kind of bounce back. And some lucky breaks come along. But I think the luck comes if you're really dedicated to the job and you're always the one who people can see is trying their hardest, giving their best, and is really focused on what they're doing. And I guess if I look across all the places I've worked, that's kind of the picture.
“I decided to leave Northampton, as anybody in their right mind would, and I went to London for a not particularly impressive job working in SEFAX, which is an old teletext service that some people remember. Worked as a downtable sub there in an attic at Television Centre. Never went anywhere. It was pretty dull, but because I was in London, I met a friend who said there’s a job going at a sports agency. And I went and got a job there. But I wouldn't have known about that if I hadn't made the jump sideways to London.
“That company eventually got taken over by PA. They then opened up a teletext service, and I got the senior job running that because of the year I'd done back at SEFAX. So that was kind of good fortune, I guess. I then applied to the BBC to work on their SEFAX service as the editor. So I went back as the editor of a service where I'd been a downtable sub four or five years before.
“And then good fortune comes in – the BBC News website was about to launch. It decided it would merge that with SEFAX. So I joined the kind of internet bandwagon, if you like, just after the news website launched. I think I established myself as somebody who could do that well. The BBC then decided they wanted a sports website, asked me if I'd do that. And that kind of rolled along for several years at the BBC.
“I decided I'd probably had enough at the BBC and decided to do a – I wouldn’t say it was sideways move – but it was a bit of a chance to work at MSN, the Microsoft website in the UK. Worked okay for two or three years, but then their whole remit changed and my kind of editorial vision didn't fit with them anymore.
“But while that was kind of going on, PA got in touch with me. I'd got to know the Press Association from working at Microsoft – we were customers of theirs – and their managing director got in touch and said, “We can tell you're not particularly happy at Microsoft now that they're changing their plans. Do you want to put your hat in the ring for the Editor-in-Chief's job?” So again, that’s about people that I’d got to know. And I got that role 10 years ago, and I’ve just concluded working there in the last couple of months.
“So there’s a kind of a story all the way through there, I think, of people you know, a bit of good fortune, plenty of pushbacks along the way. I mean, I applied for jobs at the BBC and the Press Association many times and didn’t get a reply sometimes or didn’t get the job. So I think you just have to stay focused, keep doing your best, and opportunities do come along – but you get a few bruises along the way.”
This exclusive Q&A with Pete Clifton was conducted by Mark Matthews.
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