‘Fantastic servant’ to retire from editorship (From Ilkley Gazette)

‘Fantastic servant’ to retire from editorship

9:00am Saturday 8th September 2012 in News By Observer reporter

Award-winning editor Malcolm Hoddy is to retire next week after 47 years in the industry.

Mr Hoddy, currently Editor-in-Chief of the Keighley News, Ilkley Gazette and Wharfedale & Aireborough Observer, said: “I went straight from school on to a weekly paper and, apart from two weeks between jobs, I have been a journalist since then.”

He may be hanging up his pen and notebook, but he is to continue working, joining his wife Francine at their cycling training company Safe 2 Cycle.

Said Malcolm: “I am as passionate about getting more people into cycling as I am about journalism. We specialise in getting people of all ages and abilities on a bike. It is never too late. Visit safe2cycle.co.uk to see what we do.”

Windhill, Bradford, born Mr Hoddy, started his career on the Pudsey News before leaving to join the Bradford-based Northern News Agency.

After a spell there, he went to the North East to be a freelance based at Whitley Bay, before progressing to the Newcastle Evening Chronicle and Journal doing stints in North Shields, Whitley Bay and Blyth.

Returning to Bradford, he spent the next 20-plus years with a freelance agency working for radio, television, local, national and international papers. Major stories included the M62 bombing, The Black Panther murders and the Poulson scandal, and he became known as an acknowledged expert on the Yorkshire Ripper series of murders.

He joined the Telegraph & Argus in Bradford as news editor about 26 years ago, before moving down the corridor to be assistant editor and deputy editor. He was selected to be part of a small team to go to Leicester and set up UK News.

Shortly after returning to Bradford, he was appointed editor of the Keighley News in 1994 Mr Hoddy, left, who will retire on his 65th birthday, added: “It is not until you start working at grass roots level that you start to get under the skin of an area. The outstanding feature of both Ilkley and Otley is the amount of civic pride, the number of community groups and the level of volunteering. The so-called ‘Big Society’ is alive and well.

“It has been an honour to have led and developed both of these truly local papers. My heartfelt thanks go out to the editorial team, the contributors and readers for their comments.”

Newsquest (Bradford) Group Editor, Perry Austin-Clarke, said: “This is the first time I’ve been able to tell Malcolm to ‘get on his bike’ and mean it literally!

“Seriously, though, he’s been a fantastic servant to the Telegraph & Argus, the Keighley News and, latterly, the Ilkley Gazette and Wharfedale and Aireborough Observer.

“His immense experience has been a real asset, not least to many young reporters starting out in the business, and that, along with his legendary sense of humour and bottomless bag of anecdotes, will be hugely missed. A warning to road users, though, the sight of him coming towards you on his bike in that fluorescent Lycra can be somewhat distracting!”

Mr Hoddy’s replacement will be announced in due course.