Derek Jameson
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Derek Jameson (29 November 1929 – 12 September 2012) was an English tabloid journalist and broadcaster. He began his career in the media in 1944 as a messenger at
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
and worked his way up to become the editor of several British tabloid newspapers in the 1970s and 1980s. Later, he was a regular broadcaster on
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
for nearly a decade and a half, including an on-air partnership with his third wife Ellen. When his profile was at its highest, he was described by
Auberon Waugh Auberon Alexander Waugh ( ; 17 November 1939 – 16 January 2001) was a British journalist and novelist, and eldest son of the novelist Evelyn Waugh. He was widely known by his nickname "Bron". After a traditional classical education at Downsid ...
as "the second most famous man in Britain after Prince Charles.""Derek Jameson, Fleet Street veteran and television star, dies at 82"
''London Evening Standard'', 13 September 2012


Early life

Born in Hackney, London, the son of laundry worker Elsie Elaine Ruth Jameson (whom, until the age of 8, he believed to be his elder sister) and an unidentified father, Jameson was illegitimate and grew up in a private
children's home Residential child care communities or children's homes are a type of residential care, which refers to long-term care given to children who cannot stay in their birth family home. There are two different approaches towards residential care: The fam ...
alongside his mother, where conditions were poor and five children shared the same bug-ridden bed. Although Jameson never learned his father's identity, visits — at the behest of his mother — to a
kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, ), from the Ashke ...
butcher shop where the "tall blond butcher would invariably shell out a few shillings" led Jameson to assume this man to be his father.Dennis Barke
Derek Jameson obituary
''The Guardian'', 12 September 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
The ''Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History'' (2011) states that Jameson had "one Jewish parent"; whether this refers to his mother or the man he assumed was his father is unspecified. The journalist Henry Porter, in ''Lies, Damned Lies and Some Exclusives'' (1984), states of Jameson: "Derek Jameson was born within the smell of Hackney marshes to an Irish mother and a Jewish father who disappeared shortly after he was conceived." As a child, Jameson was evacuated from London to
Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is in the London metropolitan area, London commuter belt, near the border with Essex, just west of the ...
, Hertfordshire, during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. His formal education included a period at a
borstal A borstal is a type of youth detention centre. Such a detention centre is more commonly known as a borstal school in India, where they remain in use today. Until the late 20th century, borstals were present in the United Kingdom, several mem ...
; his youthful activities had included
shoplifting Shoplifting (also known as shop theft, shop fraud, retail theft, or retail fraud) is the theft of goods from a retail establishment during business hours. The terms ''shoplifting'' and ''shoplifter'' are not usually defined in law, and genera ...
.


Career


Fleet Street

His career began in
Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...
, as a messenger boy at
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
, and he became a trainee reporter in 1946. That year he became a member of the Communist Party, and acquired the nickname of the "red menace" as a result."Obituary: Derek Jameson, journalist and radio host"
''The Scotsman'', 17 September 2013
This political involvement almost ended this employment at Reuters, but his call-up for national service intervened.Emma Bamfor

''The Independent'', 13 September 2013
By the time his period in the Army ended in 1951, during which he was stationed in Vienna, he had left the Party. Jameson returned to Reuters, where he remained until 1960, eventually becoming chief sub-editor.Dennis Griffiths ''The Encyclopedia of the British Press, 1422–1992'', London & Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1992, p.334 After a brief period as the editor of the ''London American'', a London weekly with Arthur Christiansen as the publication's consultant, he joined the ''
Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...
'' for the first time in 1961.Michael Leapma
"Derek Jameson: Fleet Street veteran and broadcaster who edited three tabloid newspapers"
''The Independent'', 14 September 2012
After working in the features department there for two years, he then became a picture editor for the ''Sunday Mirror''. From 1965 he was assistant editor of the ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
'', and from 1972 the northern editor based in Manchester. Later, in 1976 he became managing editor of the ''Daily Mirror'' and introduced the paper's own photographs of topless models. He was appointed editor of the ''Daily Express'' the following year by its new proprietor, Victor Matthews, with whom he initially had a good rapport; the two men had a similar start in life. By the time Jameson left Express Newspapers in 1980, the title had increased daily sales by 500,000, a 25% increase. In 1978, in addition he became editor-in-chief of the group's new more downmarket tabloid, the '' Daily Star'' (with Peter Grimsditch as editor). Jameson was involved in the publicity at the time of the launch, and it was aimed at the lowest end of the market, even below ''The Sun''. He was quoted in one newspaper as commenting that the new paper would be "tits, bums, QPR and roll your own fags", but while under oath several years later during his libel case, he insisted that this had been invented by the reporter."Former editor tells of nude pictures Policy"
''Glasgow Herald'', 15 February 1984, p.9
The ''Daily Star'' had achieved sales of a million copies each day a year after it had begun publication. By now Jameson had gained a reputation of being able to increase the circulations of tabloid newspapers, after ending his employment by Matthews over differences which had emerged. Matthews refused to return him full-time to the ''Daily Express'', and Jameson was himself then (briefly) editing the ''Daily Star'' in Manchester. He became editor of the ''
News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national "Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top" Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling ...
'' in 1981.
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...
, though, fired him in January 1984 after the publication of a story implying that
Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt (5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until Disappearance of Harold Holt, his disappearance and presumed death in 1967. He held o ...
, the Australian Prime Minister who disappeared from a beach in 1967, had been a communist spy. The Murdoch and Holt families had, in fact, known each other well.


Libel case

Jameson's cockney accent and abrasive persona caused ''
Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...
'' to coin the sobriquet Sid Yobbo in his honour, although Jameson himself protested at such caricatures. Despite his success and affluence, he remained sensitive about his origins. In 1980 the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
broadcast a sketch in the Radio 4 programme '' Week Ending'' which described him as an " East End boy made bad" and that Jameson was "so ignorant he thought erudite was a type of glue".Obituary: Derek Jameson
telegraph.co.uk, 12 September 2012
Jameson sued the BBC for libel, but lost the action when it came to court in February 1984. While the jury found the broadcast defamatory, they also considered it fair comment and Jameson had to pay costs of £75,000. This award against him affected his finances, and following the end of his time at the ''News of the World'' in the previous month, he was forced to take up an offer from the BBC itself.


Broadcasting

In 1984 he presented ''Do They Mean Us?'' a television series for
BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...
which, according to his ''Scotsman'' obituary, was "a decidedly patriotic examination of foreign television networks' British coverage". On the show, Jameson had the catchphrase; "Do they mean us? They surely do!" He joined
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
in late 1985, sitting in for Jimmy Young, before taking over the breakfast show from Ken Bruce on 7 April 1986, presenting it until 20 December 1991 and greeting listeners with the refrain "morning, morning, Jameson here". He then hosted the Monday to Thursday late-night show between 22:30 and midnight along with his wife Ellen, which was called ''The Jamesons'' from January 1992 until April 1997. In 1988, he began presenting the
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...
television show ''People''. He was replaced in the second series by Chris Serle, Jeni Barnett and Frank Bruno. In 1989 and 1990, he presented the nightly chat show '' Jameson Tonight'' on
Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
from the Windmill Theatre in London. In 2010 he took part in BBC's ''The Young Ones'', in which six celebrities in their 70s and 80s attempt to overcome some of the problems of ageing by harking back to the 1970s. Following the end of his regular broadcasting career, Jameson wrote a weekly column in the '' Brighton Argus'' until October 2000, and was latterly an after-dinner speaker.


Personal life

In 1947, Jameson married Jackie, whom he had met during his Communist Party membership; she divorced him in the 1960s. He married Pauline in 1971. In 1978 he left her for Ellen Petrie, to whom he remained married until his death on 12 September 2012, from heart failure, at the couple's home in
Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...
, West Sussex."Veteran broadcaster Derek Jameson dies, aged 82"
bbc.co.uk. Accessed 1 August 2023.
He had three sons and a daughter from his first two marriages.


References


External links

*
Desert Island Discs episode with Derek Jameson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jameson, Derek 1929 births 2012 deaths BBC Radio 2 presenters Daily Express people Daily Star (United Kingdom) people English newspaper editors English radio DJs English male journalists News of the World people Writers from the London Borough of Hackney 20th-century English journalists Entertainers from Worthing Deaths from congestive heart failure in the United Kingdom