The Guardian says farewell to editor Alan Rusbridger with customary 'banging out' send-off
Alan Rusbridger's final day as Guardian editor ended with him being 'banged out' of the building by colleagues last night.
Not quite as painful as it sounds, banging out is a long-standing British newspaper tradition in which journalists show their respect for departing colleagues.
The old-fashioned custom (which dates back to printers banging metal hammers and rulers against desks) was recorded in distinctly new media fashion by the Guardian's social-savvy staff.
As well as being livestreamed on Periscope, Rusbridger's farewell after 20 years as editor was captured on Vine by the reporter Frances Parraudin.
Alan Rusbridger being banged out of the Guardian offices https://t.co/phlUe7Nrif
β Frances Perraudin (@fperraudin) May 29, 2015
The Guardian team also paid tribute to their departing boss by hanging up his trademark glasses online.
Alan Rusbridger's last day as editor of The Guardian. And a minor change to our logo: pic.twitter.com/YQtnd9VCLD β Wolfgang Blau (@wblau) May 29, 2015
In a piece reflecting on his departure after two decades presiding over a paper in the midst of huge change in media, Rusbridger admitted "the power of being an editor has always made me nervous".
He also commented on how greatly journalism has changed since he took on the role in 1995: "Twenty years ago, no one asked a newspaper editor about their business model. Now itβs one of the first questions."
Amid the plaudits for how Rusbridger has steered the Guardian in his time at the helm, which included a Pulitzer prize victory, there was however some dissent from former collaborator Wikileaks.
@arusbridger Even more emotional than 5 years of our editor being detained without charge after you invited him to the UK to be your source.
β WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) May 29, 2015
Rusbridger is being succeeded as editor by the Guardian's former editor-in-chief of the US, Katharine Viner.