The Today Newspaper

Available for over a year

The Today newspaper was the first national newspaper to be printed without the unions, electronically and in colour, and the revolution it pioneered paved the way for Rupert Murdoch and Wapping. In the studio: Eddy Shah, descendant of the Aga Khan and the owner of Today, recalls being sent coffins for his family by union members, coming up with the idea for Today over tea at the Savoy with Andrew Neil and the decision to sell to Tiny Rowland. Brian Macarthur, Today’s first editor in chief, remembers the flood of Fleet St journalists wanting to join the paper, how they decided its look and ‘voice’, and surviving attempts to oust him, including by Eddy Shah himself. Anthony Holden, the paper’s weekend editor, recalls finding out, two weeks before the launch, that the entire Today building had not been earthed, and being the man who saved Alastair Campbell, who he employed on Today, for the nation. Jane Reed, the features editor, recalls working in a team that included more women than anywhere else in Fleet Street, the stress of 16 hour days and surviving on takeaways, and what it was like working under Murdoch, who bought Today in 1987. Mary Ann Sieghart, was the youngest city editor ever at 24, and she remembers working with the groundbreaking technology that kept swallowing her copy, and how in the weeks before the launch she had to share a desk to get her job done. We hear about what it was like to be part of one of the most important and exciting developments in the British newspaper industry. Produced by Eve Streeter and David Prest Series Producer: David Prest The Reunion is a Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4