Still strong after 30 years
FORMER Nottingham Evening Post journalists who were on strike for three years 30 years ago met up for an anniversary reunion in March.
They travelled from all over the country — and toasted the other journalists and trade union members who gave them inspiring support during tough times.
It was one of the NUJ’s great actions. The 28 journalists joined the six-week provincial newspapers strike with 6,000 others in December 1978–January 1979. But they never returned to work, because the Evening Post sacked them for being “disloyal”.
The strikers brought out their own paper, the Nottingham News, with sparkling exclusives and columns from such luminaries as Notts Forest football manager Brian Clough and Michael Parkinson.
It all ended in 1982 and the journalists went off, mostly into successful careers. Some became newspaper and magazine editors. Others moved into PR or journalism lecturing, or became press officers, TV executives or producers. One became manager of an ice hockey team.
The reunion was organised by Terry Wootton, now a training consultant, who spent weeks tracking people down. He traced 24 of the 28 and 21 were able to come; two have died. Since then he has found all but one — and a further reunion is planned for May.
Terry Wootton said: “It was fantastic to be back together again after 30 years — a night to remember. The Post lost a very talented team of gritty newsmen and women. But in a strange way, it did us a favour — because we all did better things with our lives.”
The former striker still missing is Paul Cowan, last heard of as editor of the Stornoway Gazette in the Western Isles. Does anyone know where he is?