Yesterday we lamented the passing of Roly Gribben, a top hack and a top guy.
The Daily Telegraph, where he worked for more than 50 years, did him proud, we were pleased to see.
A question from several correspondents: from where does the next Roly Gribben emerge?
I fear the answer is that he does not.
The main way you learn how to do journalism is from watching others who are miles better at it.
In particular, that means listening to them on the phone and going: oh, that’s how you do it…
From this point of view, WFH is a disaster for hackery, the best of which is collegiate.
Other reporters, even from rival papers, offer titbits that are part of a wider picture. Editors save you from yourself when you are about to be foolish.
Even before the pandemic, this spirit was lost.
Newsrooms ought to be slightly rowdy. At least one reporter should be asleep under his desk. Three others should be genuinely angry about the nonsense Company X has just tried to fob them off with.
And five should be on the phone nearly all day.
Newsrooms lately resemble libraries where reporters silently Google and search for online links.
In the end, this is bad for PR. If there is no Roly Gribben to fend off, the PR has to find other ways to justify his existence.
Perhaps the PR trade should invest in training journalists, if only so they have people to argue with later.
