The privilege of telling a love story
Being a journalist is a privilege, not least because it opens doors to special places and special people.
This week, I was allowed into a...
Bereft of judgement and humanity
A family in mourning pleaded for understanding and sensitivity.
Instead, the President of the United States thought it was funny to share a video...
Promoting Pride in Place
We are delighted to have been entrusted with the responsibility to promote the Darlington Pride in Place initiative, which is investing up to £20m...
The lessons to learn from Dolly
What a joy this morning to read the tributes to Dolly Parton. Not a bad word has been written or spoken - just a...
Happy memories at York Races
Today it's the annual trip to York Races I've been making for nearly 60 years.As a child, with my dad, it was Benson &...
Imagine if this was your child…
A busy morning covering A-Level results day and distributing good news stories from around the North East to the local news organisations. This is...
The day Jimmy Cricket stole my wife
THE death after a short illness of comedian Jimmy Cricket brings back memories of the time he stole my wife...Jimmy, who was 80, was...
Britain needs a period of stability
Andy Burnham today becomes Britain's seventh prime minister in a decade.The very fact that we have gone through so many PMs in so short...
10 years on, the emerging impact of Brexit
IN the run up to the referendum on whether Britain should stay in the European Union, when I was still editor of The Northern...
Back to the future…
One of the mistakes the regional news industry has made during the challenging transition from print to digital has been to give up its...
To sack or not to sack
Liverpool sack their manager a season after he won the Premier League in his first year.
Southampton don't sack their manager after his ignorance of...
If you see Terry Larkin…
My lovely mum (pictured as a young woman), recently went into a care home after suffering a stroke. She's 94 now and doing OK...
Celebrating good lives
I've always thought it's an important duty of any local newspaper (or website these days) to publish obituaries.The lives of people who've made a...
Farewell to ‘Stormin’ Norman’
Sad to hear of the passing of Haughton Cricket Club President Norman Sturman.
I have fond memories of "Stormin' Norman" being the overall winner of...
Finding stories
I was once asked at a school careers event by a pupil: "Where do you find your stories?"
The truth is that, if you put...
Celebrating 10 years of Barron Media
It's 10 years ago today since I stepped down as the longest-serving editor of The Northern Echo and launched my own family business, Barron...
The importance of helping great people tell their stories
I've been a journalist for more than 40 years and, with changes in the industry that I often find depressing, there have been times...
Reaching down into the grass roots
NATURALLY, we get a buzz when our stories make it into the national press or big regional newspapers.
And yet we also love it when...
Questioning my sense of direction
My wife and I had great fun yesterday, joining in the attempt to break the world record for the most people doing 'The Loco-motion'.
The...
Kicking off about breast cancer awareness
In 2024, I wrote a story for The Northern Echo about how the CLS Amazons FC women's football team won their league.
What made the...