With fake news
prevalent and local journalism facing an uncertain future, this week sees the
timely publication of A Capable Journalist (Y Lolfa), the autobiography
of Derek Bellis, “a true legend of the industry” according to Dominic Herbert,
News Editor at the Daily Mirror. Derek also happens to be the oldest
working journalist in Wales.
Described as “trustworthy, tenacious and
utterly devoted to reporting the truth,” again by Dominic Herbert of the Daily Mirror, Derek Bellis started working in journalism in 1950 on the North
Wales Pioneer (a different publication to the present newspaper of the same
name), at a time when, according to Derek, “news was king.” He worked on the Northants
Evening Telegraph, Liverpool Daily Post and Echo, the News
Chronicle and the Daily Herald, as well as weekend shifts on the News
of the World in Manchester before starting his own freelance news agency in
1963.
In his
autobiography Derek Bellis captures the changes in journalism over the past 7
decades of his working life, and looking back, he says that he’s grateful for
all the rich experiences that he’s experienced, and which he says won’t be
surpassed by his successors. Over the past
few decades, modern journalism has changed “dramatically, unfortunately not for
the better” - from the silence of the telephones in the press room to a severe
decrease in the number of staff journalists. Tim Rayment of The Sunday Times
describes the autobiography as a “chronicle [of] the transition from one era to
the other”.“I wrote the book
simply because I think it is a story of change which is worth telling,” says
Derek Bellis of his autobiography.
His time in
journalism was interrupted by two years of exciting National Service in the Royal Marines, a year on active service with 45 Commando
in the Middle East.
Amongst the
thousands of stories which he’s covered are the Investiture of Prince Charles;
the inquest where the Jeremy Thorpe-Norman Scott sensation originated;
interviewing The Beatles on TV (which is still being replayed worldwide); a
year’s coverage of the north Wales child abuse tribunal; the loss of 15
holidaymakers in a river tragedy; the astonishing story of a chapel minister
who mutilated and photographed dead bodies, stories of murders that have
shocked Britain, and of sabotage and firebombs, as well as more bizarre and
humorous tales.
The autobiography has been dedicated to his
contacts over the years who, as Derek puts it, “are essential to any reporter’s
work”, and who helped him achieve the scoops.
With recent research showing that while
newspapers can be read for an average of 40 minutes a day, those reading online
can spend as little as 30 seconds glancing at a news sites. Despite this, Derek
is optimistic that the press and traditional newspapers will long continue as
“there’s nothing more satisfying than relaxing with a good ‘read of the paper’.”
