It was still news – just not as we know it
Back in 1924, The Sunday Post delivered the news in a very different way than it does now.
One item featured a man who had a suspected heart-attack and died while trying to get a better view of a fire that was raging in Ayrshire.
“Mr Terence Gaffney, janitor of St Joseph’s RC School, Kilmarnock, met his death under extraordinary circumstances yesterday,” the report began.
“Mr Gaffney, having reached the top of the tower, stood for a few minutes watching the big blaze, then, to the horror of his wife and companion, he suddenly collapsed on the floor, and was found to be dead.”
Then there was a “sensational midnight shooting” headlined “Glasgow Man’s Foolish Frolic”.
“A man, Lorne Philip, residing at 72 Preston Street, admitted having recklessly discharged a pistol loaded with ball cartridge from the window,” the story began.
“When arrested he had in his possession a Mauser pistol and a pouch containing 34 live cartridges,” it was stated.
The accused explained that while he had been in the army he had taken the pistol from a German officer, the account went on.
His conduct was described as a “drunken frolic” and he was ordered to pay a fine of £5.
Then there was a man’s unlikely explanation of an encounter with thieves.
“An extraordinary statement was made in Forfar Sheriff Court by a young man charged with stealing money,” the Post reported.
“He alleged he had fallen in with tinkers, and the next thing he knew was when he came to himself in a close in Dundee with the money gone.”