Anyone writing a history of British journalism in the 20th century will need to use plenty of ink printing the name Harold Evans. And they’d do well to spend some time with the words Evans himself has committed to paper. His new book, My Paper Chase: True Stories of Vanished Times, covers Evans’ life from his childhood in Manchester, his run as editor of the Sunday Times and his two decades in the United States.
During his tenure at The Sunday Times, Evans was known for pursuing stories that had been hidden or lost from public view. One of his most famous crusades was his drive to cover the stories of families who had been affected by use of the drug thalidomide. The sedative, prescribed to pregnant mothers, had been shown to cause birth defects in children, but the case to compensate families languished in the courts for years.
When Evans arrived at the paper in 1967, the story was an immediate priority.
“When I became editor of the Sunday Times, I thought I must check how these children are doing,” Evans tells Steve Inskeep.
My wide Elizabeth put me on to this one–I highly recommend the audio (seven minutes plus).
Harold Evans: A Long Career Of Chasing Stories
Anyone writing a history of British journalism in the 20th century will need to use plenty of ink printing the name Harold Evans. And they’d do well to spend some time with the words Evans himself has committed to paper. His new book, My Paper Chase: True Stories of Vanished Times, covers Evans’ life from his childhood in Manchester, his run as editor of the Sunday Times and his two decades in the United States.
During his tenure at The Sunday Times, Evans was known for pursuing stories that had been hidden or lost from public view. One of his most famous crusades was his drive to cover the stories of families who had been affected by use of the drug thalidomide. The sedative, prescribed to pregnant mothers, had been shown to cause birth defects in children, but the case to compensate families languished in the courts for years.
When Evans arrived at the paper in 1967, the story was an immediate priority.
“When I became editor of the Sunday Times, I thought I must check how these children are doing,” Evans tells Steve Inskeep.
My wide Elizabeth put me on to this one–I highly recommend the audio (seven minutes plus).