Journalism

I have worked off and on as a journalist and editor for over 45 years, both full and part-time. It all began with Wessex News, at Southampton University in 1970.

In 2018 I worked, part-time, as a news sub for The Times; my third time with The Times: it felt great to be back and with an excellent team. Before that, I worked part-time on the Daily and Sunday Telegraph iPad production desk for two years. For a time (2015-2017), I also worked shifts for the Financial Times, as a news sub. I have to say, of all the current ‘serious’ nationals, only the FT feels like a ‘proper’ newspaper any more.

For many years I taught journalism at what is now the University of the Arts, London, finally becoming the Head of Print Journalism courses. My last full time editorial post was working as the Managing Editor, Online and Digital editions, RCN Publishing, based in the UK. During my entire journalist career, I have worked for all the UK national broadsheet newspapers in various roles – principally as a feature writer, section editor and sub-editor. I have also dabbled with the tabloids; not a pretty sight.

I have also written for an extremely wide range of consumer and specialist magazines, notably New Scientist, for whom I was a columnist and reviewer. For a time I was a columnist for UPI (USA), writing on social affairs in the UK. In 1987, I set up the award-winning Young Guardian for The Guardian. In 2001, I was the launch editor of the UK’s first all-colour tabloid newspaper for the marine industry, All At Sea (still going). I also pioneered work on several e-editions, notable ePulse in 1998 and Transitions of Life (2000). At RCN Publishing I innovated with digital editions and became the first Managing Editor, New Media.

Letters from Lemesos  is a quartet of fairly recent work:

Letter 1 – May 7
Letter 2 – May 21 
Letter 3 – June 4
Letter 4 – June 25