obituaries


of journalists and media workers in the Houses of Commons and Lords and champions media freedom in the UK and overseas. It was pressure by the group and debates highlighting the crisis in local news that led to the influential Cairncross review of a sustainable future for journalism. During one of his last debates in the House of


Austin Mitchell


Austin Mitchell, the Labour MP for Great Grimsby until 2015, former journalist and academic, has died aged 86. He was the first chair of the NUJ’s parliamentary group and a strong defender of media freedom. Séamus Dooley, NUJ assistant general


secretary, said: “Austin served as first chair of the NUJ parliamentary group in 2003 and brought his enormous knowledge, based on his own experience with BBC and Yorkshire Television. He was an accomplished broadcaster and brought his commitment to transparency into his work as an MP.


“With John McDonnell MP, the first secretary,


Austin put in place a structure that has enabled us to keep media freedom, employment rights and standards and the protection of public service broadcasting on the political agenda. He was a strong advocate for the rights of reporters and photographers, and we were appreciative of his support.” Before entering parliament, Austin had a career in broadcasting with the BBC and Yorkshire TV where he worked from 1969 to 1977 as a reporter and presenter of Calendar, its regional news programme. He was also a frequent contributor to The Yorkshire Post. The NUJ’s parliamentary group, a cross-party group of MPs and peers, represents the voice


Commons on local newspapers, John McDonnell MP paid tribute, saying: “I want formally to thank my honourable friend the member for Great Grimsby for his services to the NUJ in the House. He has championed a free and flourishing media in this country and the critically important role of journalists. I place on the record all our thanks for that.” Austin Mitchell’s reply was: “It is a pleasure to stand here as the chair of the NUJ parliamentary group but, to crack a Ken Dodd joke, it is a pleasure to be standing anywhere at my age… We want to encourage good journalism and good local journalism and we want to raise standards. “We have a situation where a fifth of local


government units have no local paper to carry on a critique of the local authority and its activities. That is tragic when we consider that all politics is local politics. Everything is local, in fact. Our roots are local, and we need local discussion and active journalism to keep us on our toes and to provide proper effective scrutiny of local government.” He supported his local newspaper the


Grimsby Telegraph and the Yorkshire Post and called for newspapers to be made community assets, as well as defending the BBC from government attacks on the licence fee.


that covered issues in developing countries. Michael D Higgins, Irish president, said: “The


Rodney Rice


Tributes have been paid to the veteran RTÉ journalist, pioneering broadcaster and NUJ member Rodney Rice, who has died aged 76. Rodney started out as a reporter on RTE’s


current affairs TV show 7 Days in 1968. He moved to radio in 1972 where he presented the mid-morning show Here and Now before beginning a 25-year run hosting Saturday View in 1984.


He also hosted the annual Worlds Apart series


news of the death of Rodney Rice, broadcaster, journalist and producer, will have been heard with sadness by all those with an interest in politics and global justice, in particular by all those to whom he introduced a world of freedom, struggles, inequality, famine and forced migrations. That aspect of his four decades of work for RTÉ was pioneering work. His was one of the earliest, bravest and most consistent voices in opposing apartheid in South Africa.


“Through his investigative work, and particularly his weekly programme, he sought to promote debate and understanding of Irish public affairs. In doing so, he helped to shape RTÉ’s current affairs broadcasting, and the public’s evolving expectations of the national broadcaster’s role in this area. “But above all else, generations of Irish people


and educators will be aware of how much they appreciated his work in bringing the voices of


the world’s poorest and most marginalised people into Irish homes, through his reporting in the Worlds Apart series, and through his support for the work of many of Ireland’s development organisations, which continued even in retirement.” Séamus Dooley, NUJ assistant general


secretary, said: “Rodney was a consistent and fearless opponent of apartheid and a pioneer in his coverage of the developing world, always providing a platform for the voiceless. “His weekly Saturday View was compulsive listening, not least because he eschewed the cult of personality, mediating not dominating debates. Worlds Apart provided a window on the wider world and served as a reminder of our obligations to those beyond our shores. “The greatest tribute we can pay to Rodney is


to remain true to his authentic values at a time when global solidarity is so essential.” He is survived by his wife Margo, children Cian, Caitriona and Eoghan and seven grandchildren.


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