The Matrix Project is an effort to document personal factors that undermine powerful journalists’ claims of objectivity and impartiality. Are factors such as an elite education, establishment connections, personal wealth and interests in rival fields compatible with journalistic integrity? 

This page looks at former Daily Mirror now Guardian political editor Pippa Crerar. For more information on the database click here.

Education

Learn about the significance of a private/Oxbridge education here

Pippa Crerar attended the independent Glasgow Academy before studying at a non-Oxbridge university (source)

Revolving Door

Learn about the significance of the Revolving Door here

Pippa Crerar has no significant experience in the fields of politics or business.

“Establishment” Connections

Learn about the significance of Establishment Connections here

Primary

Pippa’s sister Rosie is a filmmaker (source 1, source 2)

Pippa’s brother Simon Crerar is a former Times/Sunday Times journalist and employee of News Corp Australia and Buzzfeed Australia (source)

Pippa’s mother Aline-Wendy Dunlop was awarded an MBE in 2013 for services to autism and early childhood in Scotland (source 1, source 2)

Pippa is married to former Telegraph journalist Tom Whitehead – “now head of comms for the government’s vaccines roll-out and NHS resilience at the Department for Health” (source)

Secondary

None

Salary/Indications of Wealth

Learn about the significance of journalists with an unusual level of wealth here.

Neither Pippa Crerar nor the Guardian disclose details of her salary, but she is likely to earn significantly more than the average taxpayer.

As a point of reference, the Office for National Statistics list the average UK salary for 2021 as £26,193

Complaints / apologies / Controversies

Learn about the significance of complaints/apologies here

None.

Summary

Pippa Crerar is the privately-educated daughter of an academic with an MBE, whose sister is a filmmaker, whose brother is another high-profile journalist and whose husband is a Telegraph journalist turned spin doctor for the incumbent Conservative government.

Independent? Impartial? Holding power to account?

Learn more about the Matrix Project here.

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