Ewan Macnaughton
Syndication manager who sent the Telegraph around the world
EWAN MACNAUGHTON, who has died aged 87, was an old-school newsman who extended the global reach of Telegraph journalism in the age before the internet.
Telegraph scoops, and dispatches from its foreign correspondents, were sold to papers in the US, Europe and Japan and across the Commonwealth in his 30 years as syndication manager. In the new era of colour printing, lavish picture spreads brightened magazines across the world.
His affability, contacts and a capacity for mixing business with pleasure boosted sales. Macnaughton arrived in the office wellbriefed, as his travelling companion up from Kent was Bill Deedes, the editor of the paper.
He was a stocky, squarejawed Scot who dressed with military precision. With an hawklike gaze, honed from a lifetime tracking golf balls, and a gravelly Scottish accent, he appeared formidable at first. But his gruff exterior concealed a soft and collaborative nature.
A rival managing editor recalled that Macnaughton conducted deals in the most gentlemanly way and taught that business does not have to be cut-throat but can benefit all parties
Ewan Thomas John Macnaughton was born in Glasgow on April 3 1932, the son of a ship’s purser. After National Service in the RAF he joined The Glasgow Herald as a reporter. An early assignment, three days on a fishing trawler, convinced him he was right not to follow in his father’s tracks.
He made his way to Fleet Street, working on the Express’s William Hickey column. He landed the last interview with Somerset Maugham but found the novelist physically feeble with blanks in his memory.
He met Waveney, his wife of 56 years, when he was covering a charity ball for the paper. A spell followed as a newsreader and reporter for Southern Television.
Golf was a lifelong passion and he had got off to a flying start when his mother plonked him over the fence at the age of six to play with a neighbour, Ian Marchbank, who went on to be the club professional at Gleneagles for 30 years.
Macnaughton joined the Telegraph in 1968, before print union strife, and later, the internet, changed the business forever. Circulation was still climbing, prompting worldwide demand for syndicated copy. Colour printing created a new market in glossy magazine pictures.
He negotiated the rights for high-profile serialisations and also ran the Telegraph’s book publishing business. He launched Telegraph Report, a syndication service which nowadays supplies Telegraph journalism online across four continents.
It was a sociable time and lunch was a highlight. Foreign clients appreciated his formal taste in panelled dining rooms, starched linen and English food in the City or the Garrick Club. His sense of occasion meant guests recalled these events years afterwards. “Oh, I just had a sandwich at my desk” was his most dismal verdict on a working day.
But times were changing and Lord Hartwell was forced to sell the Telegraph. Working at computer screens meant that everyone sobered up – and Macnaughton then abstained altogether.
His son Guy came up with the concept of newspaper licensing, granting organisations the right to copy and share content. The Newspaper Licensing Agency, which he launched and ran, is now a multimillion pound revenue earner for publishers.
In retirement, Macnaughton played golf three times a week at Rye, keen to improve his game. His wife complained that she never saw him, but they were a devoted couple.
Ewan Macnaughton passed away so suddenly after her that his family announced that he died of a broken heart. They were cremated together and the funeral service he had planned for her became a poignant joint memorial at Wye church. They are survived by their three sons.
Ewan Macnaughton, born April 3 1932, died September 4 2019