A 40-year milestone…and the story the Echo hushed up
IT was 40 years ago today that I walked into Priestgate Palace in Darlington town centre, and reported for duty on my first day...
Focusing on a question of trust
ULTIMATELY, the success or failure of any media organisation – or individual journalist – depends on trust.
Do you, as the reader, listener, or viewer,...
The time George Reynolds wrote his own headlines
SOMETIMES, I look back on my time as a newspaper editor and, so much happened, much of it seems surreal.
For example, I’ll never forget...
The train stop that brought us a Mayor of distinction
RODDY Francis – the first black Mayor of Darlington – was a shy, gentle man and I’m sorry to hear about his passing at...
For the love of a great story…
I’VE never been able to resist a great story – especially a great love story.
When I heard about how well-known Darlington couple, Jeff and...
Oh, what a cock-up
EVERYONE loves a good typo - and a Pizza Hut restaurant in Ontario has provided the best I've seen for a while.
Have a look...
POST OFFICE SCANDAL: The truth is out – and the guilty must go to...
So now we know for sure...Fujitsu Europe's boss, Paul Patterson, has given evidence to the public inquiry into the Horizon scandal that his company,...
A dignified apology
It's good to see a newspaper apologising to a sub-postmistress over coverage of her conviction as a victim of the Post Office Horizon failure.Like...
Keeping mystery over Claudia in the public eye
Travelling by train to London today to be interviewed by Dan Walker TV for a Vanished documentary about the 15-year disappearance of York chef...
The importance of people in storytelling
In the midst of the political fall-out over the Post Office Horizon scandal, we should not underestimate the role of the writer whose brilliance...
Delivering the full impact of the Post Office scandal to our homes
WE all knew something terrible had happened at the Post Office.
We knew there had been a computer failure that led to hundreds of innocent...
A NEW ERA FOR THE HEADLINE CHALLENGE
Happy New Year, everyone.Despite it no longer being a feature on BBC Tees, I've had a lot of requests to keep the Headline Challenge...
The Headline Challenge – CENSORED!
After 18 years on the radio - 15 of them on BBC Radio Tees - it’s the last Headline Challenge on the breakfast show...
A fond farewell to the Headline Challenge
The Headline Challenge has been a big part of my life, having been a feature on the BBC Tees breakfast show for the past...
All board for a musical celebration of railway history!
After 40 years as a journalist in the North-East, it's so exciting to be involved in something completely new - working with a West...
Paws for thought…
AT Barron Media, we try to bring creativity to how we support our clients. Storytelling is at the heart of what we do and...
Spreading the word about kindness
EVEN after 40 years of writing about the North-East, special stories still excite me.
That's certainly the case with a story I've written today about...
When you’re covering frontline news, taking care matters…
WHEN your job is covering the news, you have to be ready for the unexpected, and accept that journalism can be a hazardous profession.
Barron...
Butterwick is back
There's no hiding from the fact that Butterwick Hospice Care has been through a difficult period in its history, but it was heartening to...
Nutty at Ninety-two!
FIT as a fiddle, my dear old mum has reached the grand old age of 92, and she’s still going strong. In fact, we’re...