Chris Peterson lands top China newspaper job

Chris Peterson (photo), a Reuters correspondent and editor in the 1970s and 1980s, has been appointed managing editor, Europe, for China Daily UK.

“To say I am looking forward to it would be an understatement,” he told The Baron. “Global circulation in excess of 900,000, UK weekly edition has an ABC audit figure of over 90,000. What's not to like? And I'm only 68.”

Peterson joined Reuters sports desk in London in 1970 under Jack Davies and Aubrey Higgs after five years learning a reporter's trade on the Oxford Mail and Times. He switched to London bureau after six months before heading to Asia, first Singapore and then Saigon, an Indochina wartime posting that included included stints in Phnom Penh and Vientiane.

“Moved back to London at the beginning of 1975, I joined the Overnight Dining Club - sorry, World Desk Overnight shift - under Jim Forrester and Jim Flannery, not to mention the unforgettable Dave Goddard. During this time I learned three things - how to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse (Goddard), how to wear chef's trousers and a Tibetan goatherd's hat with aplomb (Flannery), and the art of sleeping using a Siemens printer as a pillow (Forrester).”

Later Peterson worked in Paris, London and Hong Kong before leaving in 1992 to join Bloomberg, whence he departed two years ago to study for a BA Honours degree at the Open University. ■