inbox A word on timings for two of your


comments: the NUJ’s response to the Alamy reduction in fees came after the magazine went to press; Johnston Press went into administration and was then bought by investors in mid November. With the immediate threat of closures and job losses having receded, attention turned to pension provision which was reported in the magazine which reached people mid December. You suggest a comment piece on the


‘state of the industry’. This is somewhat vague – comment pieces generally need more focus. We have many comment pieces about aspects of our industry. The last edition had one on the importance of regional papers, which was well received. Please see tweets on the opposite page. Christine Buckley Editor


A ray of winter sunshine I really enjoyed the December/January issue of the NUJ magazine and can honestly say it’s the first time in a long time that I’ve read every article. You


obituaries Hugh McIlvanney


Hugh McIlvanney OBE, who died in January aged 84, was for almost 60 years the best known and leading figure in sports writing. Hugh won many awards


including British Sportswriter of the Year (seven times), Journalist of the Year in the British Press Awards and the Nat Fleischer Award by the American Boxing Writers’ Association. Hugh, who was a member of the


NUJ until he retired three years ago, was born in Kilmarnock and grew up in a council house with three siblings including novelist William. All the children were keen readers and Hugh’s move into journalism began when, aged 16, he took part in an adults’ debating


competition and came second. One of the judges was John Lyon, editor of the Kilmarnock Standard, and Hugh soon began work as a news reporter. He went on to the Scottish Daily Express and The Scotsman. In 1963, he moved to the Observer, where he worked for 30 years with a year out at the Daily Express, covering news. He joined the Sunday Times in 1993 and retired in 2016. Hugh had a high regard for and close relationship with boxer Muhammad Ali. It began when he interviewed Ali at length shortly after the boxer won the Rumble in the Jungle world heavyweight match in Zaire in 1974. After the match, Hugh had gone uninvited to Ali’s villa outside Kinshasa in the early hours of the morning. As documented in his 1997 BBC TV programme The Football Men, he also got on well with Jock Stein, Bill Shanky and Matt Busby. Later, he helped to write Sir Alex Ferguson’s first autobiography. His children Conn and arriage


survive him, as does Caroline, his third wife.


brought a little ray of sunshine to one poor old soul sitting patiently waiting to find out what the gods are going to do with his Johnston Press pension. Lawrence F Collins Alnwick


Huge fan of The Journalist Thank you so much for The Journalist. I am a huge fan of the magazine, which is brilliant, and of you. The Journalist is beautifully written and reminds people how crucially important journalism is, particularly local newspapers which are the guardians of democracy. We must fight to save them. Jilly Cooper (author) Stroud


We should have a monthly magazine – I’d pay for that When I relocated for work from Kent/ London suburbia to Cumbria, one thing that slipped through the net was my edition of The Journalist. As mid-December approached, I realised that it wouldn’t be coming and hurriedly got in contact with the editor and the NUJ


for a copy. After all, it is the most regular privilege from paying my subs and I don’t particularly want a four-month wait to read the insight it provides. Since doing my NCTJ qualifications


five and a half years ago, I’ve worked in four newsrooms and The Journalist has always popped up in a conversation. Some say that as a bi-monthly its


news is out of date and it should only focus on features and be more glossy. A couple would not mind it being even less regular. Others, such as myself, think it should be more regular, as that way it could do an even better job and provide up to date information and greater insight.


Good journalism has never been under greater threat. More people are becoming freelances and some work from home in remote locations. The Journalist, the only publication of its kind, is a constant reminder they are not alone. If it meant a slight rise in the subs to make it monthly, I would happily accept. Luke Jarmyn Penrith


There should have been more space for Bob Norris It’s a pity you didn’t have space for a decent obit of Bob Norris (last issue). The general secretary called him a ‘union legend’, which might have justified a fuller account of his career, for he was the most significant NUJ figure in the second half of the union’s first century. Short of becoming general secretary himself, he held pretty much every job, covered all the ground, was known to everyone and never let anyone down. Hundreds of members will remember him kindly. Perhaps you could steer people to the lengthy page of stories and tributes at www.nuj.org.uk/news/nuj-bob-norris/ Tim Gopsill London


The same edition of The Journalist carried a full page about how Bob inspired the NUJ’s work on dementia. It referred to the tributes to him and included his family’s fundraising initiative: www.justgiving.com/ fundraising/bobnorris


More obituaries at www.nuj.org.uk


Ian was fortunate to find a second wife in Mary from Felixstowe in 2000. He and Mary spent several years travelling together before Mary was taken from him by a brain tumour in 2013. Ian worked on several provincial


Ian Benfield


My father Ian Michael Benfield (Bunter) passed away peacefully in his sleep in December in Felixstowe after a debilitating two years with vascular dementia. Ian was born in Bingley, Yorkshire, in 1934 and was the last surviving member of his Yorkshire family of three brothers and a sister. He was educated at Bingley grammar school and still had friends and fond memories from there. Ian married Effie in 1958 with


whom he had me and my sisters Anne and Jane. He had seven grandchildren and six great grandchildren. After several heart operations, Effie sadly passed away in 1997.


papers including the Yorkshire Post, Telegraph and Argus, Birmingham Post and the Nuneaton Tribune, before moving to Suffolk in 1969 to join the East Anglian Daily Times. From here, he finally made it to Fleet Street, commuting regularly to work for Express group newspapers and News International. A keen golfer, he was a member of Felixstowe and Rushmere golf clubs. Although he had a collection of more than 100 clubs, his handicap never fell much below 20. He always enjoyed the exercise and cherished the many friends he met while playing the game. His real passion was cricket – a


game he played as a boy and as a young man. He was a member of Essex county cricket club and travelled to watch them.


Guy Benfield theJournalist | 22


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28