TheCopyboys

MR HACK No. 112

 

You'll find the score at the end of the par. This one comes from 1958 ... the annual soccer/football/slanging match between teams from the Editorial and the Composing Room (or Newsroom as they used to call it). A fair game of rough and tumble and in the two teams faces many will remember and quite a few journalists who never stepped down to the composing room will never know ... Here's a list of the names, supplied along with the picture by Mr Tom Savage ... From left: W. Love (not Walter, but his brother Billy), Billy Jones, Linotype operator, John Cole (no introduction needed), Billy Oliver, Jim Savage, apprentice compositor, Martin Wallace, Johnny Maxwell, Newroom goalkeeper and at work usually typeset the main headline for front page, Sid McCombe, a lino operator who emigrated to Canada after this pic was taken and maybe because he missed an open goal opportunity, J. Clark, Derek Rice, an import from the Stereo Dept, Billy Martin, Jim Moore, a lino mechanic, T. Savage, apprentice compositor, Norman Stockman, lino/stone who became joint deputy foreman, Tommy Bennett, lino operator, Maurice Smyth, Billy Campbell, apprentice compositor, Adam Kirkpatrick, team medic, Eddie McIlwaine, Davey Gilliland, Barry White, the editorial goalkeeper, and Jimmy Boyd. The Editorial were in the white shirts; the opposition in the striped. The score was 2-1, for the Composing Room.

MR. HACK No. 111

... and on we go ... I was 'volunteered' to help out and run the copyboys a good while back now, and this is to let regular readers and contributors know that I shall be trying to make sure that it keeps going and keeps to the rules and traditions that were laid down when the blog was created. So keep contributing ... our thanks this time go to Cal who sent us the photograph ... he can and will explain it better than I can, but a quick glance will identify a couple of nasty characters who in their own time were legends for all the wrong reasons. They are, of course, the Kray twins and the man sitting patiently and possibily nervously talking to them is our own legend, Cal McCrystal ...

Mr. Graham McKenzie

When Graham McKenzie was still a schoolboy he was already the Ballygowan corr for the Newtownards Chronicle. From the quality of the copy they were getting from him, (which was high) they assumed that he was an adult with a gift for terse, to the point writing. They were right about the gift but were astonished the first time their Ballygowan corr turned up at the Chronicle office in his school uniform.

 This was the beginning of a brilliant career in newspapers and broadcasting that many of you are well aware of and will, hopefully, be contributing memories and anecdotes about  for this blog that he created and administered until his health declined.

 When he first approached me about creating The Copyboys, I was a little cynical about it but like many others down the years was bowled over by his passion and determination for everything he did. He said he was tired of  not finding out about the death of colleagues until after the funeral.

 His first declaration in the first blog stated that the message board is here to help old hacks to keep in touch, share news, memories, anecdotes and find out what everyone was up to. Rule 1 was that there were no rules. Rule 2 was that anyone taking themselves too seriously or showing signs of  pomposity "might be liable to expuslion". Adding that  he was to be President and I would be chairman. "They are self elected and will stay in office until the coup."

 

    Graham declined to accept any money from me to meet the annual cost of Copyboys so every month or so I would drive down to Bangor and buy him lunch at either the Bryansburn Inn, near his home, or down in Groomsport. These were occasions for strolls down memory lane as well as having a drink  and setting the world to rights.

Graham and I had a curious friendship. Normally he didn't suffer fools gladly. And was not always an easy man. To put it mildly, he was not one who shyed away from confrontation. Indeed I told him once that he could start a fight with the Dhali Lama. People who believe passionately about things tend to have more arguments than people who don't believe in anything.

Graham had his convictions and you had to have a hell of a case to shake any of them. But I never met a man who loved newspapers more. Or despaired more about what he saw as the  industry's  declining readership and the celebrity obsessed infotainment he felt was replacing real news. I understand there are many journalists in print and broadcasting who were helped by Graham throughout his career and indeed there is a journalistic award The Graham McKenzie Prize for News Writing. he sponsored at  Belfast Met. He was a one-off. A great journalist and a man of gritty integrity. He'll be missed. 

 

MR HACK No. 110

There's a possibily that only sub editors at the Belfast Telegraph will know the names of most of the people in this rather wonderful old photograph of times past when producing a newspaper required a composing room, a 'stone', a 'chase' and smiling, mostly, compositors. This image comes from the files of a former linotype operator called Tom Savage who kindly sent us a copy. There is one smiling face in the group we all know well - but here's the caption reading from left  - Maurice Scott, Keith Baker and John Glass (he's the shy one and he was a lino operator), then Billy McMaw (from the Stereo Dept where the pages were turned into metal), Bob Magowan then Albert Huddleston who was still working at the time the picture was taken. The badge on his jacket reads: "Don't forget the Evening Newspapers" and it is a mystery where he got it from. Roy Winter and Ronnie McCausland make up the bunch. Tom has other pictures and hopefully he will share them with us eventually.

MR. HACK No. 109

Thanks this month to veteran and talented journo Chris Harbinson for our photograph. "Okay," wrote Chris to us. "How's about an NCTJ training course at Malahide, photographed on April 30, 1967 by M.K. Khanna, of K Studios, 16 Waring Street, Belfast.." Thanks, we said ... lots of faces, now much older so let's see how many we can spot. I'll plump for the easy ones at the front, left. Jack (JES) Sayers standing talking to Jim Gray who, in his day, was an expert at union negotiations and later at keeping a close eye on expenses. I thought that might be Martin Hill on the extreme left but then learned he was only five in 1967.  On the extreme right in the hat is Diane Harron ... and I shall leave others to the rest of you to identify. Good luck.

Mr HACK 108

 

We all have fond memories of people we have worked with, alongside ... people we heard about but maybe never got to meet. People we maybe didn't get on with easily or even like too much. People we did like and wanted to help or better still, people who liked us and wanted to help us make advances ... People. That's one of the things which made working in newspapers for so long worthwhile. A bunch of people I remember ... journalists, compositors, lino operators like Harry Gould who never as I can remember had a smile on his face, but who knew words - how to spell them and what they meant. A walking dictionary or even thesaurus ... a smart arse, yes, but he deserved some respect.  He kept many of us right in those Spectator days. Later, there were more people/characters to get to know and enjoy ... We feature one today: Ivan Lambert. He and me only met briefly and only exchanged passing greetings ... He comes to mind because I was sent the illustration by someone who did know him well and still manages to make it a fond remembrance, if that's the right way to put it ... Ivan spent the night at his friend's 'residence' and the following morning departed, leaving the drawing and the scribbed note which tells its own tale ...So, here's to memories of people we have worked with and still like to remember ...

Christmas Mr Hack 107

It time to wish readers and contributors a happy and hopefully prosperous New Year, largely depending on how the terms of the Euro agreement work out for all of us. Two cards to admire this time ... the first a very festive picture but one I hope we don't get to enjoy here. The other image comes from 1971 and was UTV's friendly way of sending greetings to its people ... many of whom you will no doubt recognise, so good luck guessing who they all are. I know at least six ... starting in the middle with Ian Sanderson. Happy guessing ... and again, Happy Christmas.  

NUJ History

We have acquired some ancient minutes of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Northern Ireland. Some of them are more that 70 years old. They relate to the
1930s and 1940s. They are the minutes of the “Northern Ireland Branch” – which no longer exists, there now being several branches in different parts of the
Province.
The minutes reflect something of the struggle for recognition by newspaper employers; the fight for better wages, the employment of non-journalists to cover
sports, and the milking of material for “corr”
These minutes are if historic interest. They are being passed on to an appropriate keeper, whether NUJ or the public library for the benefit of researchers.
Meantime, some extracts from the minutes will be published below, and will be added to from time to time. Your comments are welcome...

 – Graham McKenzie, Copyboys President

MR HACK No. 106

It is funny ... you come to the pc to prepare an update and you are wondering just what to put up to entertain, annoy or puzzle whoever might come along to have a look ... Such was the case a couple of days ago when 'ping' Outlook Express informed me that a new message had arrived and the sender was telling me how he enjoyed the 'sterling work' being done on copyboys and that he 'may get around to contributing but am a bit shy ...'. I have to tell him his moment has arrived because it was Don McAleer and he sent me a great picture (above) and he wrote:"I came across this pic recently and it may be of interest to some of your readers. A caption attached reminds me of Freddie Gamble telling me that anyone who produces a picture without a caption and a date deserves to be shot. I think he was right!" He was right ... I am holding publication of the caption to let our readers guess the names of the people they can see and the year it was taken ...

MR HACK No. 105

Time again for updating ... So, enjoy. We have argued and commented and asked about this one, so we thought it a good idea to do a little searching and, thanks to our good friend Derek Black we were able to trace an almost mint-condition copy of the Belfast Telegraph's Style Book - originally created by the late Fred Gamble (pictured below) and later modified by the late Des McMullan. To celebrate the resurrection of this fabled publication we have
created an album appropriately called BT Style Book and there you can find and read when you enlarge the picture the 23 pages that subs were once instructed to read and learn and write and edit text in style before it appeared in the paper ...