The editor

Rochdale Daily is edited by one person, who lives in the borough and answers for every word — anonymously, for safety, and accountably, by design.

An anonymous editor — and why

Rochdale Daily is edited by a single editor who lives and works in the borough. The editor’s identity is deliberately not published.

This is a safety decision, not an evasion. Rochdale Daily reports on crime, court proceedings and other contested matters in a small community — coverage that can attract intimidation and harassment of the people who produce it. Protecting the identity of journalists at genuine personal risk is an established practice in British journalism, and we apply it here. What we do not do is use anonymity to escape responsibility.

Accountability without a byline

Every mechanism a named editor would answer through operates here in full:

• Personal responsibility. One identifiable person — the editor — carries final legal and editorial responsibility for everything Rochdale Daily publishes. That responsibility cannot be delegated to software and is not diluted by anonymity.
• Direct contact. The editor personally receives and answers correspondence sent to news@rochdaledaily.co.uk and cc@rochdaledaily.co.uk.
• Corrections and complaints. Our published procedure applies to every article, with a public corrections log.
• Right of reply. Anyone directly referenced in our coverage may respond, and substantive responses are added to the article concerned.
• Verification. The editor’s identity is available in confidence, on legitimate request, to parties with a proper need to know it — including courts, the police, regulators, recognised press-industry bodies and legal representatives pursuing a formal complaint. Requests should be made to cc@rochdaledaily.co.uk.

A note from the editor

I started Rochdale Daily because this borough — nearly a quarter of a million people — deserves news coverage that treats it as more than an occasional line in someone else’s regional round-up. I live here. The roadworks, the court lists, the planning applications and the Saturday results in these pages are my own town’s.

Publishing anonymously was not an easy choice, and I understand readers who would prefer a name and a photograph. I have chosen instead to be judged entirely on the work: on whether it is accurate, fair, promptly corrected when wrong, and useful to the people it serves. Every article tells you exactly where its information came from so you can check it yourself, and every mistake you bring to me will be dealt with under the published procedure. That is the deal I offer, and I intend to keep my side of it.

— The Editor, Rochdale Daily

Last reviewed July 2026.