( L - R ) Allen, Dowie

FOR A man of few words, Ken Allen has certainly made his mark on a profession that requires a lot of talking. His quiet intellect, and wit, have been a feature of The Gleaner's Editorial Department for more than 50 years.

A former editor-in-chief, Allen is one of three newsroom veterans who retire this month. The others are respected photojournalist Junior Dowie and senior proofreader Harvey Josephs, a former night editor.

The trio - the grand old men of the Grand Old Lady of Harbour Street - have witnessed the changing dynamics of Jamaican journalism up to their final days at The Gleaner's North Street headquarters. When Allen started at the company as a sub-editor in January 1952, The Gleaner was the only daily newspaper; the weekly Jamaica Times and Public Opinion were its main print competitors.

Many rivals today

Today, the publication has other print rivals, several television stations and a plethora of radio stations competing for market coverage.

The media boom of the past 20 years, Allen believes, has helped The Gleaner.

"There is no question that print can beat radio, because the new technology facilitates speed and makes it much easier to produce a paper," he said. "With a late-breaking story, for example, you can just change copy on screen and still make the deadline."

A Cornwall College past student, Allen was the second of three children born in Montego Bay to Edward Allen, one of the town's best-known tailors.

He found employment at The Gleaner by responding to an ad for prospective journalists and started to work there the same day as another budding newsman - John Maxwell.

He remembers joining a formidable newsroom team that included Editor-in-Chief Theodore Sealy, News Editor Calvin Bowen, Chief Sub-editor Eddie Williams, Vic Reid, who was a senior sub-editor, and reporter Ulric Simmonds, whom he considers one of Jamaican journalism's earliest stars.

"He was the star reporter. He got a byline in the days when The Gleaner didn't give bylines," said Allen. "What we have now as Public Affairs, he had that slot on Sundays. Every politician waited with apprehension to see what Ulric was coming with," he added.

After graduating from the sub-editor ranks, Allen became a reporter and understudied Simmonds. In 1957, he was awarded a scholarship to Columbia University by the Inter-American Press Association, earning a degree in government and public law from that college's School of General Studies.

1970s was the best

Throughout the 1960s, Allen covered the rural, parliamentary and labour portfolios as a reporter. But as exciting as those years were, he said they were no comparison to the 1970s, when Jamaica was run by a socialist government led by Prime Minister Michael Manley.

The Manley administration consistently accused The Gleaner of unfairly attacking its policies while supporting the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party.

On September 24, 1979, a fired-up Manley led a march on The Gleaner's North Street office and accused the company of misrepresenting a speech he made at the Non-Aligned Summit in Havana, Cuba, earlier that month.

Allen believes it was the first time press freedom in Jamaica was openly challenged.

"You had to be careful on the streets. If people saw you taking notes anywhere, you could become a target," he said.

Firebrands

During the 1970s, The Gleaner newsroom had its share of firebrands. Among them was Garfield Myers, currently a senior editor at The Observer, and a long-time admirer of Ken Allen.

"One thing I always remembered about Ken Allen, he never lost his cool and was always in control. That built a tremendous respect for him among everybody," Myers said.

Allen's contribution to local media has not gone unnoticed. In 2002, he was honoured by the Press Association of Jamaica for outstanding service to Jamaican journalism. Fourteen years earlier he was awarded the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican Government (Commander class).

Oliver Clarke, managing director of The Gleaner Company, makes a presentation to Ken Allen at a pensioners' luncheon in 2006. - File