Obituary: Rodney Burbeck

Rodney Burbeck, the former editor of Publishing News, died on 30th August. He was the perfect complement to the paper’s founder, Fred Newman. While Newman had vision, he was poor at the systems. Rodney brought organisation when he joined in 1986. It may sound a small thing, but in those pre-digital days, a paper’s alphabetical filing system of cuttings was vital; Rodney introduced this, making it possible to properly research stories.

Born in Leicester, Rodney was the son of a stage magician. He left school at 18 and started work with the Leicester Evening Mail. In the early Sixties he moved to London, working for the Daily Express (Scottish edition), the magazine London Life and the Daily Sketch, which is where he met Newman.

He had an eye for a good headline and compelling standfirst, and his proofreading skill stood him in good stead when Publishing News closed and he worked freelance for John Blake and Kindle Singles.

On a personal note, I am thankful for the guiding hand he showed me when I entered journalism, and for the many enjoyable meet-ups in recent years when he would rail against the incorrect use of an apostrophe in that day’s Times.