Eric Gordon

WHO knows what Eric Gordon would have made of the tributes at Monday’s full council meeting?

The journalist had never, after all, been afraid to challenge and criticise our local politicians.

This was all water under the bridge, it seemed, as they stopped to recognise what he had achieved during 38 years as editor of the New Journal. Eric, who died on Easter Monday aged 89, had once been a regular visitor to the press benches at the Town Hall, closely scrutinising their every move.

Council leader Cllr Georgia Gould said: “It’s still hard to believe he’s gone because he was one of the borough’s great characters who always seem full of spirit and passion. “In the CNJ, I think he created something truly special – a newspaper which has nurtured great journalists, which has stayed true to its independent spirit. It holds us all to account, but tells the stories of our borough. I know the journalists at the CNJ will continue to do justice to Eric’s legacy.”

Cllr Georgia Gould [All councillor photos taken before the pandemic]

Conservative group leader Cllr Oliver Cooper said: “He was clearly talented and smart, and he decided that his ingenuity was best placed here, and that he would be best used serving the public of Camden by holding to account those that wield power over us.”

Cllr Oliver Cooper

He added that he had been a fair editor who challenged politicians from all sides of the spectrum, telling the meeting: “Eric ensured the Camden New Journal asked tough questions, informed by his decades in the role, but also informed by listening to the people of this borough.”

Long-serving Liberal Democrat councillor Flick Rea said: “He was fascinated not only by the bigger picture but also by the tiny details of people’s lives and Camden. He ferreted out facts, he looked into dusty corners of the borough.”

Lib Dem Flick Rea

She added: “Politicians of all parties across the council waited eagerly and sometimes nervously for Thursday mornings, and whatever his columns were, whether they were critical or occasionally full of praise. “I think Eric was Camden, and Camden was Eric.”

Meanwhile, the National Union of Journalists posted a special tribute, noting the independent nature of the paper and its freedom from the big newspaper group.

General secretary Michelle Stanistreet said: “His great achievement was to make a persuasive case for the appeal and viability of locally-owned, locally focused journalism. Much better would be our media landscape if his example were widely followed.”