Documento 37 - Anthony Howard

2 minidiscs, 2 cds, 1 file, 5 AIFF files (827.4 MB)

Interview with Anthony Howard, journalist for the Observer. Conducted by Jay Rayner on 1 October 2001. Also includes a data sheet containiing biographical details about the subject and information about the recording.

Summary contents of interview (with rough timings):

Disc 1:
Track 1
00.30 Introductions
00.40 Ended his career as deputy editor of the Observer
01.00 His career in law and politics
01.45 His National Service
02.05 Offered job with Sunday newspaper
02.30 Decision to go into journalism
03.10 Due to his first job on the Manchester Guardian he was told to give up his Labour seat
03.50 Decision to leave politics
04.55 Howard's view of The Observer at the time of the Suez Crisis in 1956
06.35 Met David Astor before joining the Observer
07.10 Courted by owner of the Daily Express

Track 2
00.00 Impressions of the Observer - a family newspaper, like a medieval court
01.30 Remembers figures at the Observer
02.00 How David Astor's spirit dominated the paper
03.00 Discussion of Astor
03.50 Layout of the paper in 1965. Expansion of newspaper
05.30 Headhunted by the news editor, John Thompson, who he knew from Tide and Time
06.30 Vagueness of lines of command. Meeting the foreign editor Roberts Stephens

Track 3
00.00 Signed pieces on the Observer leader page
01.55 A lot happening whilst he was at the Observer, for example the Vietnam War
02.45 The Astor family - ' a great American family'
03.30 Meeting Teddy Kennedy with David Astor
04.30 The Observer 'a newspaper people knew'
06.30 Interviews with secretaries of state
07.25 Attended press conferences. Not allowed to question American president Lyndon B Johnson (LBJ)

Track 4
00.00 London response to the material he filed
02.20 Guardians weekly's good circulation in the States
07.00 Producing a film on LBJ with Associated Rediffusion
08.00 Survived under Astor's patronage
08.45 Asked about perks, salary, etc at the Observer

11.00 Ken Obank held whole paper together
13.00 Talks about there being an Observer expense account at a Washington bank

22.30 'The editor's [Astor] indecision is final'

31.50 Back on the Observer
32.20 How did he feel? He was replacing John Cole. Feels the paper was more efficiently run under Donald Trelford
38.50 Trelford reporting on the Matabeleland massacres

44.30 Michael Meacher 'middle class' libel action taken against the Observer

Disc 2:
Track 1
00.00 On the rumoured '500,000 club' - action if Observer circulation dipped below 500,0000
01.00 Threat of Saturday newspapers
02.00 Working with Donald Trelford
03.55 Considered to be 'the political heart of the newspaper'
04.50 Continued discussion of Trelford
05.18 Reflection on the Observer under Guardian ownership
06.20 Belief that the Observer is back to its strength following a bad period. The Guardian did not understand the Observer, not simply the Guardian on Sunday
06.50 Personality of the Observer reader
07.05 Anecdote about Randolph Churchill writing for the Observer
07.45 Change in editors at the Observer

Access to recording via GNM Digital Repository

Copyright: Guardian News & Media Ltd and Anthony Howard

See AMH for records relating to Howard's time as Washington correspondent for the Observer.
See OBS/6/1/2/1 for records relating to Howard's work as deputy editor of the paper.