Roy Lancaster Curthoys (4 October 1892 – 24 September 1971) was an Australian journalist and newspaper editor. Curthoys was born in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. Within months of Vi ...

and educated in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. He began his journalistic career on the '' Daily News'' in 1910, later transferring to the '' West Australian'' (1916), '' The Herald'' (1919), and '' The Argus'' (1920). He was a "leading member" of the Australian Journalists Association (AJA) and helped establish journalism courses at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany and various other facilitie ...

and

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb ...

. In 1922 he travelled through Europe and North America as a "special representative" of the AJA, learning about journalism education. Curthoys was made assistant editor of ''The Argus'' in 1925 and editor in 1929. He resigned in 1935 due to a disagreement with the paper's management. For decades Curthoys also served as the Australian correspondent for overseas newspapers, including ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'' (1927–1958) and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' (1935–1957). He maintained a good relationship with

Keith Murdoch Sir Keith Arthur Murdoch (12 August 1885 – 4 October 1952) was an Australian journalist, businessman and the father of Rupert Murdoch, the current Executive chairman for News Corporation and the chairman of Fox Corporation. Early life Murdoc ...

, who gave him a free office and employed him as a leader writer on occasion. Curthoys was appointed CMG in 1958, after declining an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1951. He died in Melbourne in 1971, aged 78.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curthoys, Roy 1892 births 1971 deaths People from Ballarat Australian newspaper editors The New York Times writers The Times journalists Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George 20th-century Australian journalists The Herald (Melbourne) people The Argus (Melbourne) people