Catholic editor John Short - RIP

John Short + 14.08.1931 - 17.02.2015

John Short was an amazingly gifted communicator who used his talents as a journalist, winning the admiration and respect of his colleagues.

He loved nothing better than telling a story and, whether his audience was a single listener or many thousands of readers, was an trifle to John.

Born and raised in the heart of Liverpool, he was the son of a GPO technician and one of five children raised in a devout Catholic family where he inherited the gift of the gab, from Irish roots.

As launch News Editor of the Liverpool Catholic Pictorial, in 1962, John led from the front to make the paper a huge success and saw it achieve a peak circulation of 43,000.

A tabloid, sold on Sundays at the back of churches, "The Pic" could easily have opted for a safe existence, skirting around the burning issues of the day. But that was never an option for John, who was determined – often to the dismay of clerics and his editor alike – that The Pic should be fiercely independent and enjoy complete journalistic integrity.

He was a graduate of the school of hard knocks and had cut his sharp journalistic teeth on the St Helens Reporter, before working for a year on the Liverpool Daily Post.

Throughout his career he trained and mentored scores of journalists and photographers, many of whom went on reach the upper echelons of the profession, crediting John as their great inspiration. Later he lectured in journalism and communications at universities in England and Northern Ireland, and did a spell with the government's Central Office of Information, where his talents for diplomacy were sometimes tested to the limit during the Thatcher era.

John's death, at the age of 83, writes the final chapter in the account of a man who was respected and renowned for his unfailing honesty, his talent as a raconteur, his great sense of fun and Christian love for others.

Renowned as an exacting taskmaster, John did not suffer fools gladly and would never settle for second-best. He and would expect staff to stay at the office late into the night, rather than put an edition to bed, until he was satisfied that everything possible had been done to make it sparkle.

By the end of the 60s, John sometimes performed the roles of Editor, News Editor and lay-out sub-editor at The Pic – the latter being a job for which he had never been trained, instead gleaning the skills along the way.

When asked why he made page 3 of The Pic – with a big brash picture story - resemble a national red-top more than a religious paper, John was unrepentant.

Wiping away a cheeky altar boy grin, he feigned shock and said: "The Sun and the Mirror have the best subs in the world and they are paid a fortune for those designs! Why would I not copy the best?"

A highly intelligent and engaging character, in the 1950s John had been accepted to train for holy orders at the Valladolid seminary in Spain, a period of his life that he often recalled with great fondness. However, John ultimately decided that the priesthood was not his true calling and returned to Merseyside in the mid 50s, where after a stint of national service, he landed his first writing job, on the Birkenhead Advertiser, embellishing his knowledge of sport in order to land the post.

His stay on Wirral proved to be short-lived, when his cricketing skills were found lacking after he was called-upon to umpire a match in which the paper's editor was captaining a team. John was soon batting on a much firmer wicket when he landed a news job at the St Helens Reporter, on a salary more than double that which he had previously commanded.

After three years in St Helens, he moved on to the Daily Post, and it was from there that he was head-hunted, by Catholic Pictorial founder Norman Cresswell, to take on the daunting task of launching a new Catholic weekly to rival established titles like The Universe and the Catholic Herald.

At The Pic he nurtured the talents of reporters like Bob Azurdia, Frank Hendry, Mary Borg and Nuala Parsons, along with photographers Barry Farrell and George Moran. He also fostered the talents of Colin Myler, current editor of the New York Post, and helped launch the career of his younger brother Mike Short, who went on to a high-flying career in television.​

When Cresswell decided to sell The Pic, John opted for a career change and obtained a social studies degree from Liverpool University, while supplementing his income with subbing shifts at the Guardian in Manchester.

After working his way through universities and freelancing for papers he eventually secured a place as a media lecturer at Trinity and All Saints College, in Horsforth near Leeds. Later he moved to Northern Ireland, for a post at the newly established Ulster University, in Coleraine.

On returning to England, John and his wife settled in Yorkshire, and lived there until recently, when his health began to fail when they moved to Ely in order to be close to family.

Following a battle with cancer, John died peacefully at home, on Tuesday 17th February and his survived by his wife Hilda and their daughter Emma and son David.

Chris Johnson, Chief Executive of Bay TV Liverpool, paid tribute to his first news editor. Chris said: "Working for John was always a thrill and a challenge. He was very patient and a real inspiration to young journalists and had innate gift for getting the very best out of people.

"John was better than many of the lauded columnists of Fleet Street, but his greatest talent was as a raconteur. When John was telling a story, time seemed to stand still. He loved to play with words - both written and spoken - and his enthusiasm was infectious.

"He derived great satisfaction from seeing the success of the 'old boys'and 'old girls' who had trained under him on newspapers and as university students. Legions of journalists owe him a huge debt of gratitude. He was loved and respected and many of us cherish memories of him as a truly great man."

Former journalist Susan Kirwan, now head teacher at St Edmund’s and St Thomas’ School in Waterloo, Merseyside, recalled how John took her under his wing.

Susan said: “I first met John Short in 1973 when I was a naïve, eighteen year-old trainee reporter. It was a relief to meet this kindly, patrician figure who welcomed me to the world of Catholic journalism, but I soon came to realise that behind this exterior lay a man of great substance who taught me that news is always to do with people and the best stories make this clear. It was a lesson that stood me in good stead in reporting and, since then, in my life in education. Thank you John.”

Details of John's funeral arrangements are yet to be finalised.

Source: Archdiocese of Liverpool