Review: Three Men and a Quote

And what a good thing they did too - it's not often your average reader realises what's going on behind the scenes of the masthead, or can appreciate the sheer craziness of the newspaper world.

Journalism can attract larger than life characters - and Three Men And A Quote has these in triplicate.

The story quite literally kicks off with former sports editor Ken McEwan, who first signed up as a cub reporter with the Bexhill Observer aged 15.

Ken candidly describes the characters he met along the way, his first scoop (a runaway horse) and the trials and tribulations he faced and overcame when time after time new technology changed the face of the press forever.

Most intriguing though are his experiences in the local sports world.

McEwan firmly established himself in this field with a genuine love of all sports, coupled with a no-holds-barred opinion column in the Eastbourne Herald for years up to when he retired.

Of most interest to Bexhill is former deputy editor John Dowling, who makes up the second leg of the tale.

John's account is a wry but loving account of his 47 years at the Bexhill Observer, and a chronology of the town is reflected on every page.

He describes the fire at the Grand Hotel and the prank photographic played on him afterwards, the riots at Northeye Prison, the Tern shipwreck and an amusing but potentially explosive incident involving a Rother District Council mole leaking a confidential report, JD himself, and a handy pair of curtains.

To finish is Philip Elms, who also began at the Bexhill Observer.

Unlike his colleagues, he became fully involved in sub-editing and production, finishing up as group production editor at the Hastings Observer.

Phil describes his battle to improve the look and content of the papers - and an unexpected health scare.

His other interest - amateur dramatics - is also catalogued and the parallels between acting and newspapers becomes clear.

Three Men And A Quote is a faithful record of the last 50-odd years in an industry which has changed forever.

The fact that the trio left their working lives at the same time as part of restructuring underscores the savagery of the recession, the effects of the digital revolution and the straits in which print journalism has found itself.

However, this is a fascinating, poignant and laugh-out-loud funny read - Three Men And A Quote is definitely a worthy supplement to your weekly newspaper.