A nostalgic piece that will probably mean very little to anyone under the age of 30. Sports Finals, the Saturday night sports newspapers that appeared in most major UK cities barely 30 minutes after the final whistle, are long gone. They must seem an anachronism now in the internet age where you can get minute-by-minute reports on your phone but they were an exciting phenomenon to work on.
I was lucky enough to have worked for a while on the now defunct Evening Post-Echo in Hemel Hempstead in the early 80s, alternating between working on the sub-editing desk and filing copy -by phone – from a First Division ground. It never ceased to amaze me how we got it out – even more so looking back at how labour-intensive it was in those pig-headed union days before journalists were allowed to use computers.
It was hard work but rewarding too – there’s nothing like having to dictate a new intro on the fly when some bastard at Highbury scores a last-minute winner to sharpen your reporting skills!
Breezeblog 