Bestanddeel 39 - Harry Jackson

4 minidiscs, 4 cds, 1 file, 19 AIFF files (3.71 GB)

Interview with Harry Jackson, journalist for the Guardian, conducted by Leslie Plommer. The interview took place on two separate occasions, beginning 14 July 2001 (discs 1, 2 and 3 (part)) and concluding on 20 October 2002 (discs 3 (part) and 4). Also includes a data sheet containing biographical details about the subject and information about the recording and notes on Harry Jackson's career with key dates.

Summary contents of interview (with rough timings):

Disc 1:
Track 1
Test

Track 2
00.55 How Harry got his job at the Guardian
03.26 Messenger boy years
04.45 Time spent in Wormwood Scrubs following imprisonment as a conscientious objector

12.40 Returning to the Guardian

Track 3
Test

Track 4
01.30 Mid 1952 Meeting with AP Wadsworth
03.00 First subs job in Manchester from November
04.28 Learning printing terminology and the Guardian style book
06.40 The reaction when he came back to London as a sub
08.04 Office routine; size of team; running of office

Track 5
00.28 London office on Fleet Street
01.40 Discusses colleagues at the office
02.10 Remembers John Beavan
03.00 Remembers Gerard Fay
04.37 Remembers Iain Hamilton, editor of the Spectator
05.46 Remembers John Bowra
06.45 Remembers Eve Crossland
07.46 Remembers Mrs Van Trier
09.36 Remembers Philip Hope-Wallace, Drama & Opera Critic Neville Cardus

13.40 Riding a scooter and types of news coverage i.e. train crashes
16.16 Discusses Francis Boyd
17.54 Discusses Michael Frayn

Track 6
Test

Track 7
00.40 Changes at the Guardian
05.45 Going undercover to check compositors misprints on the Guardian
07.00 Ethos change, problem spotting and the move Manchester to London Office
09.52 Discusses Nesta Roberts

10.09 Discusses Dennis Hart
11.20 Kemsley House and problems at Guardian
13.20 Peter Gibbings and the 1966 crisis

Track 8
03.25 Remembers Alastair Hetherington and the issue of the title of the London Office Editor
03.40 Remembers Fay

Track 9
00.00 Continues to discuss Fay
03.00 Remembers Hetherington and his proposal that Jackson should travel around the world writing about how governments should be run

Disc 2:
Track 1
01.00 Hetherington and his qualities as an editor. Gave the writers a lot of creative freedom
01.50 Dislike of leader columns

Track 2
01.00 Job responsibilities
01.30 Last day on the news desk and starting new job
05.00 Expansion of job, assignments given by Hetherington
09.15 The journalists differing views over the European Union

12.00 Poor communication between the subs, writers and the editor
16.20 Letter from Lord Marks 'no Jewish advertising should appear in the Guardian unless it changed its line'
19.40 Ireland, 1968 and posting to Belfast

Track 3
00.40 Reasons for being sent to Biafra and experiences there
05.00 Israel and the Israeli war
08.00 Cost of sending copy from abroad

12.00 Tel Aviv ceasefire
19.00 Jordan and breaking the censorship rules. Syndication with Washington Post and American embassy

22.30 Czechoslovakia

38.00 Northern Ireland 'seige mentality' of press coverage

40.30 Saigon
41.40 News desk's perception of distance between jobs
42.00 Theory of maps. Misjudgement of distances
43.00 Saigon under siege. Difficulty in getting accreditations

Disc 3:
Track 1 - 14 July 2001
00.00 Work in Saigon, attitude of Alastair Hetherington towards Americans and Vietnam
02.42 CORDs civilian side in Vietnam war and its leader, [Coma]
04.30 Hetherington article about police chief vetting voting lists
05.27 Being sent to Israel, writing piece contradicting Guardian's editorial line

Track 2 - 20 October 2002
00.00 Being in Middle East/ and srael after 6 days war. The sinking of the INS Eilat
03.38 Northern Ireland Derry protest march, MPs and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)
04.43 Working in Northern Ireland with Geoffrey Moorhouse, attitude of civil service in Stormont
08.00 Press conference with Ian Paisley
09.00 Mechanics of reporting

14.18 Working during riots and being mistaken for a police spy
18.00 Army barricade of Falls Road

20.00 Describes army arriving, mentions John Cunningham, broadcasting from Derry
22.00 Mayhem in Falls Road, petrol bombing, seven year old killed in his bed
24.01 Derry press conference, row over CS gas, Ian Wright arriving on honeymoon
26.00 Bank side by-election, won by O'Neill. Chichester-Clarke taking over
27.00 Peace in Northern Ireland, Ann McCarthy, and Northern Ireland policy

34.49 John Cole and Alastair Hetherington disagreement over Hetherington's biography
36.12 Communication with Harry Whewell in Manchester
39.30 Interrogations of IRA prisoners

41.48 Present at Bogside riots
42.38 *
44.00 Discussion of Simon Winchester and press coverage of Northern Ireland

Track 3 - 20 October 2002
03.40 Writing leader writer pieces
04.50 Becoming features editor Peter Preston becoming night editor
08.00 Naming religious column 'Face to Faith'

12.51 Quality of subbing, difficulties with John Course
18.00 Peter Gibbings deal for Canadian newsprint, and quality compared to Norwegian

Disc 4:
Track 1
00.00 Technological problems involved with production in pre computer age
04.11 Monetary constraints on features department
05.45 Fight to get Watergate articles
08.20 Women's page dispute

10.30 Letter's Page Dispute
14.15 Differences with Peter Preston
17.15 What Jackson wanted to achieve in Features.
18.50 Off to Washington

20.00 Missing clues to two big stories; the Watergate scandal and the stalking and shooting of George Wallace
22.30 Starting work in Washington and joining the 21st century
28.20 Build up to the 1980 presidential election
29.25 Ease of work in America and the helpfulness of American citizens

32.32 Iranian hostage crisis and petrol crisis
34.00 Difficulties of working as a foreign correspondent in the United States

41.40 How computers transformed work in different time zones
42.58 Benefits of working as a foreign correspondent in the US

50.00 Leaving Washington
51.00 Ronald Reagan's office
53.20 Difficulties in getting through to an overseas audience. Comments on the Guardian today

Track 2
00.00 Covering the Three Mile Island accident at the nuclear power station in Pennsylvania, US
03.25 The Third Amendment to the US Constitution and getting what you want as a journalist in America
05.55 Using obscure sources for stories

11.50 Other work and roles and how they were good for networking

Track 3
00.00 Daily routine in Washington, communications with London
02.35 Front page basement, finding quirky stories with Alex
02.50 Responsibility for getting Playback sent out to all foreign correspondents
03.50 Benefits of travelling in the United States

Restricted - edited copy available via GNM Digital Respository

Copyright: Guardian News & Media Ltd and Harry Jackson