{{Short description|English journalist, editor and author}} {{pp-pc1}} {{EngvarB|date=June 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
'''Damian Thompson''' (born 1962) is an English journalist, editor and author. He is an associate editor of ''[[The Spectator]]''. Previously he worked as editor-in-chief of the ''[[Catholic Herald]]'' and for ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' where he was religious affairs correspondent and later blogs editor and a Saturday columnist.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/telegraph-relaunches-blogs-names-thompson-section-editor/915779 | title=Telegraph relaunches blogs and names Thompson section editor }}</ref>
==Career== Thompson was educated at [[Elvian School|Presentation College, Reading]] (later known as the Elvian School),<ref name="nib">{{cite news|title=Catholic school wins reprieve|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1430308/News-in-brief.html|access-date=17 June 2012|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=17 May 2003}}</ref> and read history at [[Mansfield College, Oxford]].<ref name=oxon>{{cite web|title=Mansfield College Magazine – Winter 2008|url=http://www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/fileadmin/Documents/pdf/Magazines/Winter%202008.pdf|publisher=University of Oxford|access-date=17 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904205822/http://www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/fileadmin/Documents/pdf/Magazines/Winter%202008.pdf|archive-date=4 September 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
In 2003, he received his Ph.D. in the sociology of religion from the [[London School of Economics]]<ref name=atlantic>{{cite web|title=Author profile – Damian Thompson|url=http://www.atlantic-books.co.uk/content/damian-thompson|publisher=[[Atlantic Books]]|access-date=17 June 2012}}</ref> for his thesis, ''The problem of the end: a sociological study of the management of apocalyptic belief at Kensington Temple, a London Pentecostal church, at the end of the millennium''.<ref>{{OCLC|500224286}}</ref> He was religious affairs correspondent of ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' from 1990 to 1994, and subsequently editor-in chief of the ''[[Catholic Herald]].''<ref name=bone>{{cite news|last=Bone|first=Victoria|title=Defending the faith, or prejudice?|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7841775.stm|access-date=17 June 2012|newspaper=BBC News|date=21 January 2009}}</ref> He was a director of the ''Herald'' from 2003 to 2019.<ref name=director>{{cite news|title=Three Ex-Bishops Defect To Catholicism |url=http://news.sky.com/home/uk-news/article/15895485 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130202210326/http://news.sky.com/home/uk-news/article/15895485 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 February 2013 |access-date=17 June 2012 |date=15 January 2011 |author=Alison Chung |author2=Steph Oliver }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00288446/officers | title = Catholic Herald Limited - Officers – Find and update company information – gov.uk | website = [[Companies House]] | access-date=2024-02-09}}</ref>
Thompson was a Saturday columnist for ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' from 2011, and the Blogs Editor of the [[Telegraph Media Group]], with responsibility for editing and commissioning blogs on politics, religion, finance and culture. In June 2014, he left his posts at ''The Telegraph''<ref name="Greenslade">Roy Greenslade [https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/jun/18/dailytelegraph-jason-seiken "Daily Telegraph's Brogan departs as group seeks 40 new recruits"], (Greenslade blog) ''The Guardian'', 18 June 2014</ref> "in entirely amicable circumstances".<ref name="Sommers">Jack Sommers [http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/06/18/telegraph-cuts-highprofile-journalists_n_5506465.html "Telegraph Cuts High-Profile Journalists Benedict Brogan And Damian Thompson In Latest Cull"], ''The Huffington Post'', 18 June 2014</ref> On 5 August 2014, ''[[The Spectator]]'' announced that Thompson had been appointed associate editor.<ref>Fraser Nelson [http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/fraser-nelson/2014/08/changes-to-the-spectators-editorial-team/ "Changes to The Spectator’s editorial team"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140806111609/http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/fraser-nelson/2014/08/changes-to-the-spectators-editorial-team/ |date=6 August 2014 }}, ''The Spectator'' (blog), 5 August 2014</ref>
He has written two books about apocalyptic belief and one about [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]] or "counterknowledge", which he describes as "misinformation packaged to look like fact".<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1575346/Lies-damn-lies-and-counterknowledge.html Lies, damn lies and 'counterknowledge'], ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', 12 January 2008.</ref> His book ''[[The Fix (book)|The Fix: How Addiction is Invading our Lives and Taking Over Your World]]'' was published in 2012.<ref>Thompson, Damian (22 February 2012). [https://web.archive.org/web/20120229014939/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/9111217/Are-sleeping-pills-really-that-bad-for-your-health.html "Are sleeping pills really that bad for your health?"]. ''The Daily Telegraph''</ref> He writes a monthly column about classical music for ''[[The Spectator]]''. He also regularly writes a column on ''[[UnHerd]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Damian Thompson |url=https://unherd.com/author/damian-thompson/ |access-date= |website=UnHerd |language=en-GB}}</ref>
==Books== *''The End of Time: Faith and the Fear in the Shadow of the Millennium'' (University Press of New England, 1997);<ref>Eisner, Robert (9 November 1997).[https://www.nytimes.com/books/97/11/09/reviews/971109.09eisnert.html "The Big Round One"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref> {{ISBN|9780874518498}} *''Loose Canon: A Portrait of Brian Brindley'' (ed) (Continuum, 2004);<ref>{{cite news|last=Knight|first=India|title=Like a fat blackbird|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3620520/Like-a-fat-blackbird.html|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=11 July 2004|url-access=subscription}}</ref> {{ISBN|9780826474186}} *''Waiting for Antichrist: Charisma and Apocalypse in a Pentecostal Church'' (Oxford University Press, 2005); {{ISBN|9780195178562}} *''[[Counterknowledge|Counterknowledge: How We Surrendered to Conspiracy Theories, Quack Medicine, Bogus Science and Fake History]]'' (Atlantic Books, 2008); {{ISBN|9781843546757}} *''[[The Fix (book)|The Fix: How Addiction is Invading our Lives and Taking Over Your World]]'' (Collins, 2012); {{ISBN|9780007436088}}
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
== External links == *[https://web.archive.org/web/20090627035701/http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/author/damianthompson/ Damian Thompson – ''The Telegraph''] *[http://www.spectator.co.uk/author/damian-thompson/ Damian Thompson – ''The Spectator'']
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Damian}} [[Category:1962 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Alumni of Mansfield College, Oxford]] [[Category:Alumni of the London School of Economics]] [[Category:The Daily Telegraph people]] [[Category:Editors of Catholic publications]] [[Category:English bloggers]] [[Category:English political writers]] [[Category:English journalists]] [[Category:English Roman Catholics]] [[Category:Online journalists]] [[Category:People educated at Elvian School]] [[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:Religion journalists]] [[Category:English male bloggers]]