Earliest Days

From Global Journalism Review (Winter, 2006)

Pioneering at London’s City University

By our universities reporter

As City University celebrated 30 years of journalism, its first course director recalled the days when the media had appeared highly sceptical about any contribution a university could make to “the trade”. However, a number of leading figures in journalism had taken a keen interest in the project and helped to ensure its remarkably rapid acceptance.

At this hapy anniversary at the university on October 5, 2006, Tom Welsh, the first director, was welcomed by Adrian Monck, the current head of journalism, and recalled that Harry Evans (now Sir Harold), then editor of the Sunday Times, launched the course at the offices of the newspaper (see pic), and later became honorary professor.

Welsh referred to his original “very active advisory committee”, which included Brian MacArthur, then news editor of The Times, who was still associated with the course, and Jim Brennan (see pic), a veteran in journalism training and now editor of the website publication Global Journalism Review, who was present at the reception (and possibly the oldest there).

He continued: “It is usual on such occasions as this for those involved to say: ‘We never dreamt when starting this thing that it was going to grow so big.’ I don’t believe anyone involved in 1976 thought that. We were all aware that we were at the start of something very big, and in the succeeding years we have watched with keen interest the growth and development of journalism at  City and the way in which it has taken its place of pre-eminence among the centres of excellence in the education and training of those involved in the media trade. Our congratulations to all those who have achieved this.”

Welsh said the first year of the course was very hard work. He read a letter from Sir Edward Parkes, the City Vice-Chancellor “on whose watch the course was set up”, regretting that he could not attend and asking for his greetings to be conveyed to anyone at the reception who was involved in the early days. Welsh paid tribute to David Jenkins (see picture below), “the academic who did the hard work of persuading the university senate to run the course, and who was then head of the centre under which the courses operated”.

The many others present included the former head, Professor Hugh Stephenson (see pic) and several professors and visitng professors, including Roy Greeslade, Marcel Berlins (see pic), Richard Redden (see pic), Robert Jones and professional associates including Jon Slattery of Press Gazetee, who had been a student on the historic 1976 course (see pic). (The university was unable to provide a guest list in time for this article.)

Welsh sadi that too many of the major figures who had been closely associated with the course, and would have loved this occasion, had died. They included four who were all famous in their own fields: Harry Butler (see pic), Tom Baistow, John Dodge and Frank Edmead. A much loved figure was Henry Clother, who was not in at the start, but joined as a lecturer in the second year and, as tutor in charge of the newspaper course for 13 years, played a signifcant role in its development.

Welsh said that 1976 was probably the happiest year of his working life. One special reason was the students: “Such very nice people!” Eight of the 13 students on the first postgraduate course attended the reception and, later, a convivial meal at an Islington restaurant with Welsh and Mary Harris.