Friends, mentors and a dreaded green pen
Subscriber only
I WAS thrilled to be able to return (again) to the Chronicle a few years ago.
It was where I learnt, well, just about everything important about our profession, and a lot of that was learnt from the guys in the comp room.
People like John Baker, Ron Wheeler, Tony Bates, Dave Neilsen and brilliant proofreader Lloyd Hasset, of whom I was terrified (he would mark up my stupid errors in a dreaded green pen and pin them on the comp room noticeboard).
But most of all I learnt from Nancy Bates, a mentor like no other – inspiring and demanding.
It was great to go back as editor and meet a new generation of future journalism leaders – the Chronicle was ever a breeding place for excellent journalists – and to find old friends still there, like my old school mate Susie Dahl, and Chris Goodwin Becker who once, along with an ad rep and me, made up the entire Hervey Bay office.
