Responsibilities on both sides

I am glad Alan Cooper picked up on my nostalgia piece about The News (A disservice to journalists, The News, April 3) even though was critical of my reference to the

1984 dispute between management and the National Union of Journalists over the introduction of new technology.

There is nothing in what he says with which I take issue for. Having previously been a member of the NUJ for most of my working life, I understood the issues and their difficult acceptance by my colleagues, but management also has its responsibilities and producing the paper was paramount.

And though Alan sees it differently, it would have been out of context in the article I was writing to have described the dispute at length, nor, indeed, any of the similar actions by our printers through the National Graphical Association, all of which were a sad but inevitable consequence of the huge changes then taking place in the newspaper industry.

Where I am happily proved wrong by Alan is in the length of the stoppage, which I thought was six weeks, but was in fact 14 weeks, from which I draw some satisfaction from knowing I played a part in keeping The News alive. For had it totally disappeared for that length of time with a consequent massive and damaging loss of advertising and cover price revenue, and worse still thousands of our readers losing the newspaper-buying habit, there might not have been as many jobs for our journalists to return to.

Finally, I am grateful for Alan’s kinder references to me as a colleague which I warmly reciprocate having enjoyed working with him and admiring his considerable journalistic abilities.

Perhaps we might enquire of Coastal Partners why the flood defence at Little Anglesey is still unbuilt?

Douglas Hickson Former Deputy Editor, The News