The editor of the weekly Isle of Man Courier is to retire after 30 years at the helm.
Lionel
Cowin, 60, originally joined Lancashire Police, but soon found life on
the beat wasn’t for him and took an early career change. In 1962 he
joined the Isle of Man Examiner as a cub reporter moving on to the
Hertfordshire Mercury series as a sports reporter.
He wanted to move on to evening papers, but was asked to return to the island and “look after” the Isle of Man Courier.
“I
wanted to keep the paper out of the clutches of the print group and
keep the paper’s independence so I came back on board,” he said.
Related
In
Cowin’s 43-year career in journalism one incident stands out, when 50
people were killed in a fire at an entertainments complex. “It was a
momentous moment. We were on hand-tomouth resources and had to work
right through the night, quite common back then, and it was a real test
to us all.”
He recalled another occasion when he worked a 56-hour
shift after a computer failure. Cowin said: “I will always miss the
thrill of the hunt but am looking forward to travelling and possibly
writing a book.”
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