It is also a funny story of his many misadventures and escapades in the sometimes bizarre world of local journalism; a moving story with unique insights into events such as the miners’ strike of 1984 and the foot and mouth disaster of 2001; an uplifting story of triumphs against the odds; an intriguing story of boardroom battles and management conflicts ~ and a thoroughly absorbing story of one man’s remarkable life in the regional newspaper business ~ a once great British industry which, he argues, is now under threat of extinction.

This book is ‘must-read’ for anyone who works in the news industry and will be particularly warmly welcomed by residents of the West Country, Nottingham, Kent and Shropshire, where Barrie’s work as a journalist touched many lives ~ although readers everywhere will simply enjoy it for its entertaining mix of nostalgia, humour, honesty and insight.

You can read an extract from this book by clicking here

Barrie Williams was born in Oswestry, Shropshire and attended Oswestry High School for Boys.

At 16 years of age he joined the Shrewsbury Chronicle as a trainee reporter, under the watchful eye of its eccentric but charismatic editor Jack Cater. Here he was to learn the rudiments of his chosen profession and, incidentally, become Shropshire’s chronicler of the 1960s beat music scene, interviewing many of the most famous pop stars of the day.

He rapidly progressed, via a variety of regional newspaper jobs, to join the Kent Evening Post, in 1971. Five years later he became its editor, at the age of 31.

In 1981 he was appointed editor of the Nottingham Evening Post, where he remained for 14 successful years before moving on to become editor of Plymouth-based Western Morning News in 1995, a post he held until taking early retirement in 2005.