Times remains unique, says Simpson
WHEN two publishers of the Fiji Times Ltd were sent home following the 2006 political upheaval, William Simpson was roped in to lead operations.
He had retired but his love for the company that employed him since 1965 brought him back to captain the ship that has stood resiliently over the test of times.
Enjoying his life in Savusavu at the family estate in Nukubalavu, Mr Simpson believes the company, in celebrating its 150 years of existence in Fiji, has survived trying times.
Amid interference of social media and other information platforms and the easy access to internet,
Mr Simpson believes the newspaper remain unique and irresistible.
But he described the company as a strong tower, a beacon of hope and mediator that has served the people of Fiji well.
In hindsight, he admits that technology has taken over and caused many changes within the company operations compared with his time. “There’s a lot of changes and I can see that, but I believe the staff of The Fiji Times today should continue to work hard, work honestly and remain the unmoved messenger of Fiji’s people,” he said.
“When I started with the company the members of the editorial team were Seona Smiles, Matt Wilson, Robert KeithReade, Vijendra Kumar, Stanley Whippy, Eliki Rabuka and the team had more expats than locals.
“At that time, we only occupied the front office by Victoria Pde then the company purchased the piece of land by Butt St and we moved to the back where the office is today.”
His journey with the company started with his role as a boy in the production department mainly to assist permanent workers.
The first computer the company purchased, Mr Simpson said was six foot tall and it had three different sets of keyboards.
“I’m not sure what year that was but it was taller than us and the three different keyboards, one was for the alphabets, one keyboard for numbers and the other for capital letters,” he said.
“The teams in Lautoka and Labasa used to send their stories through telefax and we would insert that tape onto the printing machines and I worked with a lot of experts who were publishers.”
Loving his life back home, Mr Simpson has challenged reporters to stand for what’s right and give their readers what they deserve.
There’s a lot of changes and I can see that, but I believe the staff of The Fiji Times today should continue – William Simpson