Ms Hacker pictured with New Journal editor Eric Gordon and BBC presenter Bill Turnbull
Honour for oldest columnist
THE New Journal’s star columnist Rose Hacker was toasted by a ballroom crammed with some of the country’s top reporters on Friday afternoon as she was crowned the world’s oldest journalist. Ms Hacker, 101, stole the show at the Press Gazette’s Regional Newspaper Awards – the industry’s Oscars – at the Royal Lancaster Hotel near Hyde Park.
She was twice given a standing ovation after it was revealed that she is being lined up for a place in the Guinness Book of Records.
Not a gimmick, Ms Hacker’s carefully-crafted column is widely read across Camden, Islington and Westminster. Her skilled writing has captured the attention of several national newspapers and television shows.
Bill Turnball, the BBC Breakfast presenter, said: “Think to yourself, imagine doing the job you are doing now at the age 101. It is a truly amazing feat. It is time to charge your glasses to an amazing woman.”
The New Journal, the only north London newspaper to be invited to the ceremony, was a runner-up in the Free Newspaper of The Year category, narrowly pipped by the Hertfordshire Comet.