William Haley

Sir William John Haley, KCMG (24 May 1901 – 6 September 1987) was a British newspaper editor and broadcasting administrator.

Biography Haley grew up on the island of Jersey and attended Victoria College. In 1918 he began to study journalism, and in 1921 he secured his first newspaper employment at The Times, eventually being stationed in Brussels.

Early in his career on the Manchester Evening News, Haley was found to be too shy to work as a reporter. He was then transferred to subediting. He rose through the ranks becoming director of Manchester Guardian and Evening News, Ltd after 8 years. He was made Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George in the 1946 New Year Honours.

He was editor-in-chief of Encyclopædia Britannica from January 1968 until resigning in April 1969 in an editorial dispute over how to adapt the work to new readers. It was reported that younger executives (including the company's president, Charles E. Swanson) wanted to introduce livelier materials, while Haley favoured the traditional approach and an expansion in size.

Haley died in a nursing home in Jersey.