Frank Fitter
Frank Fitter
Monday 24 October 2011
Shortly after Frank Fitter, evening editor in charge of the second floor RES newsroom in Fleet Street who died last month, and I had both retired from Reuters we met by chance in the early 1990s. On his way home he had spotted me in the busy and noisy pedestrian tunnel at the Science Museum in Kensington. Frank, cheerful as ever, told me he was now working at the Royal College of Music near the Royal Albert Hall.
When I informed the College of Frank’s death, I received the following kind and spontaneous tribute from Sarah Batchelor, Assistant Librarian at the RCM:
“Your email was forwarded to me as I have worked here for many years and was a good friend of Frank’s whilst he was here at the RCM (between 1990 and 1995 as the college’s first Personnel Officer).
“Frank was such good fun, and very sociable – a group of us would meet in the staff [smoking] common room every lunchtime, and sit and have a chat over our sandwiches (and often a glass of wine!). It was Frank who christened our meetings ‘The Luncheon Club’ – and a couple of us former ‘members’ have been reminiscing about that today. He and I got on particularly well as we shared a love of all sport, and despite the fact that Frank was Spurs and I am Arsenal, we spent many a happy hour discussing football, horse racing, athletics or whatever else was on at the time!
“His wealth of experience was also invaluable when it came to union/management meetings – I was one of the NALGO (subsequently Unison) representatives so attended many meetings where Frank was in attendance, giving us the benefit of his knowledge and helping smooth over any difficulties in our negotiations.
“I am so glad you contacted us, as several of us have talked about Frank from time to time and wondered how he was getting on.”
Subsequently Sarah learned that Frank’s wife Shirley died in 2007.
Manfred Pagel
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When I informed the College of Frank’s death, I received the following kind and spontaneous tribute from Sarah Batchelor, Assistant Librarian at the RCM:
“Your email was forwarded to me as I have worked here for many years and was a good friend of Frank’s whilst he was here at the RCM (between 1990 and 1995 as the college’s first Personnel Officer).
“Frank was such good fun, and very sociable – a group of us would meet in the staff [smoking] common room every lunchtime, and sit and have a chat over our sandwiches (and often a glass of wine!). It was Frank who christened our meetings ‘The Luncheon Club’ – and a couple of us former ‘members’ have been reminiscing about that today. He and I got on particularly well as we shared a love of all sport, and despite the fact that Frank was Spurs and I am Arsenal, we spent many a happy hour discussing football, horse racing, athletics or whatever else was on at the time!
“His wealth of experience was also invaluable when it came to union/management meetings – I was one of the NALGO (subsequently Unison) representatives so attended many meetings where Frank was in attendance, giving us the benefit of his knowledge and helping smooth over any difficulties in our negotiations.
“I am so glad you contacted us, as several of us have talked about Frank from time to time and wondered how he was getting on.”
Subsequently Sarah learned that Frank’s wife Shirley died in 2007.
Manfred Pagel
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Frank Fitter and Dennis Savage
Wednesday 05 October 2011
So the curtain has finally come down on the “Twilight Twits” – 85 Fleet Street’s evening economic news editing desk. Under the command of Frank Fitter, Dennis Savage, Frank Nunnay-Elam and Peter Perllman ran one of the most laid back professional news operations I have ever worked for. I cannot believe they are all gone: they were all at my wedding. I guess I spent a third of my time on the evening shift. The sub who drew the short straw had to write the “market trends” report for the late news on Radio 4, filling in the blanks at the last minute as Wall Street closed, so the BBC messenger could collect it from Frank. We used to try and slip in some difficult phrasing to try and trip up the reader!
Confirming Colin Mooney’s comments, they were hands-on journalists of the old school: the knowledge and technique they passed on to downtable subs was immeasurable.
Dennis was always going on about Madam Binh’s (the Soup Kitchen down the side of the Express in Shoe Lane), supposedly frequented by the team but I never saw anyone I recognised in there. One side of Dennis not generally known was he was quite an expert on antique and vintage playing cards.
Frank was an avid Spurs fan. He even organised a Reuters cricket team that played a couple of matches against sides like the Fuller’s Brewery (they must have been on a liquid lunch as that game was over almost as soon as it started!).
It has been an honour and a privilege to know and work with these wonderful guys. Loads of laughs and happy memories.
Gerry Corran
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Confirming Colin Mooney’s comments, they were hands-on journalists of the old school: the knowledge and technique they passed on to downtable subs was immeasurable.
Dennis was always going on about Madam Binh’s (the Soup Kitchen down the side of the Express in Shoe Lane), supposedly frequented by the team but I never saw anyone I recognised in there. One side of Dennis not generally known was he was quite an expert on antique and vintage playing cards.
Frank was an avid Spurs fan. He even organised a Reuters cricket team that played a couple of matches against sides like the Fuller’s Brewery (they must have been on a liquid lunch as that game was over almost as soon as it started!).
It has been an honour and a privilege to know and work with these wonderful guys. Loads of laughs and happy memories.
Gerry Corran
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Double blow
Sunday 02 October 2011
The sad passing last month of both Frank Fitter and Dennis Savage must herald the end of an era for a score or so UK provincial hacks (like myself) who were recruited in the 1970s when Reuters was expanding its specialist economic news services.
For most of us Frank and Dennis were the leading seniors on the evening shift for the London production desks on Fleet Street’s second floor. With their deaths their Reuters generation is virtually extinct along with other newsroom accessories such as typewriters, pencil-subbing, telegraphists, copy belts and copytakers. They will be warmly remembered for:
● passing on their considerable market expertise and experience to newcomers
● maintaining a healthily sceptical stance to all in editorial authority. But, to be fair, it wasn’t just the bosses who were ribbed – fun was poked at themselves and anyone else in the newsroom when a suitable occasion arose. Contemporaries will recall hilarious discussions on prospects for the Kansas City manure futures market
● employing a pleasingly non-judgemental attitude towards staffers who had overstayed their welcome at nearby hostelries such as The Cogers, The Bell and Mrs Moon’s.
Most recruits like me found a week of evening shifts hard going. The only thing worse was the overnight shift. But stalwarts such as Frank and Dennis enjoyed their evenings and upheld the quality of output without sacrificing any of their above principles.
Colin Mooney
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For most of us Frank and Dennis were the leading seniors on the evening shift for the London production desks on Fleet Street’s second floor. With their deaths their Reuters generation is virtually extinct along with other newsroom accessories such as typewriters, pencil-subbing, telegraphists, copy belts and copytakers. They will be warmly remembered for:
● passing on their considerable market expertise and experience to newcomers
● maintaining a healthily sceptical stance to all in editorial authority. But, to be fair, it wasn’t just the bosses who were ribbed – fun was poked at themselves and anyone else in the newsroom when a suitable occasion arose. Contemporaries will recall hilarious discussions on prospects for the Kansas City manure futures market
● employing a pleasingly non-judgemental attitude towards staffers who had overstayed their welcome at nearby hostelries such as The Cogers, The Bell and Mrs Moon’s.
Most recruits like me found a week of evening shifts hard going. The only thing worse was the overnight shift. But stalwarts such as Frank and Dennis enjoyed their evenings and upheld the quality of output without sacrificing any of their above principles.
Colin Mooney
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