TheCopyboys

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 ... 

MR HACK N0. 104

 

 

It is good to bring you good, happy news ... Betty Rainsford (nee Lowry) is well known to a whole raft of journalists. She was at one time Woman's Editor of the Belfast Telegraph and carried out that job with style and skill. She celebrated her 90th birthday on Monday and a group of her ex-colleagues thought it would be a good idea to mark the occasion with a lunch at the Reform Club in the heart of Belfast. A good time was had by all ... and the pictures show that clearly. Present (in no particular order) were three editors of the Belfast Telegraph - Roy Lilley, Ed Curran and Martin Lindsay. Plus Belfast Telegraph's best known and legendary sports editor, Malcolm Brodie along with ex-colleagues from the Features Dept. of those early days, Billy Graham and Blogmaster John Caruth. Also present to celebrate was an old friend, Desmond McGimpsey, ex-Northern Whig, the Press Association and later with the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. And last but not least: Suzanne Lowry who happily took the time and trouble to fly from France to attend. Along with the two pictures featured here, we have an album, Betty's 90th Birthday with additional views of the lunch.

MR. HACK No. 103

 

 
This is quite a historic picture, in its own way. It comes to us from our most learned friend and colleague, Cal MCrystal and, indeed, features him ont he extreme right photographed in his office in the Sunday Times Foreign Dept. Beside him is someone we have been reading a lot about recently and, depending on your point of view, he is either, A, a saviour of the British Press, or B, whatever the opposite of that might be. With them in the picture is the former editor of the Sunday Times Harold Evans. "Note the faintly idiotic/uneasy grimace on my face as I begin to dance to a new tune," Cal tells us. "It has remained ever since, but not yet to cause me to be arrested or sectioned." *We are not sure about the man attemptiong to make an escape through the office roof.

MR HACK No. 102

 

 
We had planned to run this new picture at the time of the Queen's historic visit to Ireland, but something happened to make us change our minds ... Now we offer it as a reminder of how the Belfast Telegraph once upon a time covered a major event .... The event was the Queen's visit to Northern Ireland in 1976 and this is the Belfast Telegraph's reporting team sent to the University of  Ulster at Coleraine ... The team was made up of (from left) with photographer Charles (Charlie) Cockcroft, Betty Lowry, Women's Editor, Deric Henderson, then a young reporter and now PA boss in Ireland, the late David Watson, Robin Morton and feature writer, Michael McDowell, now a resident in Washington. Times have changed ...

Newspaper Lives

This is the category where, for easy reference, we store biographies and obituaries of those we have known of or worked with in the newspaper (and broadcasting) trade.

The intention is that these biographies and obituaries will first be published in the day-to-day "Mr Hack" category...but will also be archived here for long-term reference and research.

As we have no "search" facility on TheCopyboys, this should make it easier for retrieval.

Each entry will be headlined with the name of the person being referred to. Because the latest entry is always the last to be seen, you may have to scroll down until you catch the name you want.

MR. HACK No. 101

 

 
There is need for a bit of glamour and more humour around this place ... hence our two pictures this time out, both kindly supplied by Derek Black. Photographer John Harrison liked to snap funny moments as well as the business he was attending. This time he was caught himself along with Stephanie Bell and Sue Corbett  at a fancy dress ball in the Calgorm Manor some years ago. The second picture sees Derek managing to avoid a knock-out punch from Henry Cooper at the National Training Awards at the City Hall in Belfast.