MAY 1985
BY JON SLATTERY
Bradford fire disaster
The terrible fire at Bradford City football club in which 56
spectators died dominated the news. Journalists who had expected to be
covering the upbeat story of Bradford winning the Third Division
championship found themselves in the middle of a disaster as fire swept
through the main stand. For many the most vivid reporting came from the
live commentary by Pennine Radio’s Tony Delahunty who was broadcasting
from the centre of the stand. The tape of Delahunty’s broadcast lasted
just one minute 12 seconds and went out around the world as well as the
UK. Delahunty told Press Gazette: “I have had as much exposure as
anyone could bloody well want. The commentary has been heard all over
the world. Yet you have to ask questions of yourself. I have
become a sort of personality because of death and that is a horrible
way to become a personality.”
Related
Press Council gets tough over race
Four papers were criticised by the Press Council for mentioning the
colour of a 17-year-old black youth convicted of murdering one girl and
admitting raping five others. Complaints were upheld against The Sun,
Evening Standard, Daily Express and Daily Mail. The Press Council
ruled: “In this case the crimes were appalling but the fact the youth
convicted was black was irrelevant to them and should not have been
introduced to the reports.”
Also in trouble with the Press Council was the outspoken editor of
the Sunday Express, Sir John Junor. In a column about the IRA’s bombing
of the Grand Hotel in Brighton, Junor fumed: “With compatriots like
these, wouldn’t you rather admit to being a pig than to being Irish?”
The Press Council upheld complaints that the Sunday Express had
published racist remarks.
Content from our partners
Hepworth is top of the pops with publishers
David Hepworth’s success as editor of Emap’s Just Seventeen magazine
was acknowledged when he was named Editor of the Year in the 1985 PPA
awards. Hepworth went on to be one of Emap’s top editorial executives
before leaving to launch his own company with pal Mark Ellen –
Development Hell, which publishes Word magazine. Another PPA winner was
the late and much lamented Jeffrey Bernard, named Writer of the Year
for his work in The Spectator.
The birth of Chat is planned
TVTimes publisher Independent Television Publications was planning
the launch of Chat magazine. More than £4 million was being invested in
the project, based on the successful German magazine Bild der Frau
which had a weekly circulation of 2.4 million.
Franzen and Geere on the move
Peter Franzen (far left), now editor of the Eastern Daily Press, had been appointed news editor of Eastern Counties Newspapers.
Another journalist on the move was Alan Geere, who had been made night editor of the EDP.
Geere is now a consultant and lecturer in journalism.
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