Tributes paid to former MA editor
Previously a freelance reporter for national newspapers, he was appointed as MA editor in 1971 and retired in 1990 having steered the publication through a period of turbulent change - and some of its most successful times.
Terry’s first challenge was to manage the transition from a daily paper, then owned by the Society of Licensed Victuallers charity, with an office on Fleet Street that competed with national titles on general news to one of the world’s few all-trade dailies, publishing Monday to Saturday. To achieve that he created a network of regional reporters feeding in stories from all over England and Wales.
As he remembered in a piece for the MA’s 225th anniversary edition in 2019, “I was given the task of filling a 16-page daily with purely trade news… Some days we even ran 20 pages. People said it couldn’t be done, but it was.”
He also flouted convention by maintaining a sports desk entirely devoted to horse racing. Along with the Sporting Life, the MA was the only newspaper to carry full form, and pubs often left it on the bar to help punter customers make informed selections. Terry knew it was a driver of footfall for the trade.
Big changes were to come, though. In 1985 the MA, which had moved into a large building in Brixton, closed its on-site printworks, and by the time Terry retired it was clear that it could no longer continue as daily paper.
“During my editorship we made the highest profits in the paper’s history,” he wrote in 2019. “It just gradually became no longer viable to try and run a daily newspaper purely for licensed victuallers.”
Respected figure
Clive Smith, who worked for the MA as regional reporter for Wales and the West Country for 21 years, remembers:
“Terry was privileged to be editor of MA in its heyday when the paper was published six days a week and was regarded as the true ‘Bible’ of the trade. It was enjoyed by everyone, from drink companies to licensees and every ‘rep’ on the road.
“It was also read by everyone in the horse racing world – from the owners to the bookies as well as the punters.
“Terry loved mixing with people from all walks of life, and it’s no surprise that within the trade he was at the heart of all major industry events and trade bodies, including the charity organisations.
“He was a respected figure throughout the industry and his daily column - The Editor’s View - was a must for everyone to read to keep up with the trade gossip.
“And as a boss he was the best and always showed all his staff respect and ensured we all worked as a very happy team.”
Brave decision
Terry was the best “boss” one could wish for — he knew when to take control, when to reprimand his head office and district staff, when to praise them and when to have fun and play.
But a brave decision was taken in the early 80’s to dilute the racing pages and specialise purely in the drinks industry and Terry was responsible for seeing through this very delicate change which involved increasing the number of district reporters to ensure comprehensive coverage of trade news.
Prior to taking over the helm of the MA, Terry had worked as a freelance for a number of national daily and Sunday newspapers and loved mixing with people from all walks of life.
It was no surprise therefore that within the trade, Terry was at the heart of all major industry events and conferences including the National Association of Licensed Victuallers, the National Association of Licensed House Managers, the Society of Licensed Victuallers and its Schools, the Licensed Victuallers National Homes and the Licensed Trade Convalescent Homes.
