Long days
Sir: Magnus Linklater's account (`The death of my paper', 1 August) of the life and death of the London Daily News was salutary, but I am growing tired of the breathless, gee-whizz tones in which media tsars refer these days to what they consider to be unusually long working days.
He reports that his news desk duo `routinely' worked a 16-hour day, and that `the' all-time record was achieved with his deputy political editor's 32-hour general election stint.
So what? He, like many others in the metropolis, might not be aware that some senior editorial executives on smallish pro- vincial daily papers (i.e. those with con- siderably fewer than 180 journalists) invest — regularly by necessity and frequently by choice — 15-17 hour days. On election day this year, I was in the office at 7 a.m. and left at 2.30 p.m. the next day — 311/2 hours. I didn't beat 'the' LDN record, but my deputy most certainly did. He was still at it when I called it a day.
I'm neither complaining nor boasting; defying the clock continuously can be as counter-productive as watching it is most certainly ruinous. I am simply pointing out that a good many editors (not to mention farmers and hospital doctors and the rest) out in the sticks would find Mr Linklater's wonderment at these daily marathons touching.
However, I still find time to read your excellent organ.
David Flintham,
Editor, Bath and West Evening Chronicle, 33-34 Westgate Street,Bath
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