Alan Slingsby: A Life Dedicated to Journalism and Community Service
Alan Slingsby, who has died aged 76, was a journalist-philanthropist widely admired for his commitment to putting his media expertise at the service of the community. Beyond his professional endeavours, he generously offered his skills for free to friends, community organisations, and causes close to his heart, such as the Palestine News.
Early Career and Union Contributions
After training in the 1970s on the sub-editors’ desk at the Morning Star, Slingsby went on to produce publications for trade unions, local groups, and countless individuals. One union journalist aptly described him as the designer to the labour movement. His work spanned unions for students, teachers, firefighters, and civil servants, including roles with the TUC and, notably, the National Union of Journalists, where he served as freelance production designer of the Journalist magazine from 1991 to 2009.
Born in Perivale, west London, Alan was the son of Doreen (nee Robinson) and Charles Slingsby, an investment manager, and had two sisters, Janet and Angela. He attended Hampton grammar school and graduated in American studies from Manchester University in 1970. During his university years, he edited the student newspaper, then called the Independent, before joining the Morning Star. He also contributed part-time on a voluntary basis to the independent leftwing magazine the Leveller for about a year.
Editorial Leadership and Community Impact
Slingsby’s editorial career included leading several public service and trade union publications. He started with the Society of Civil and Public Servants’ paper, Opinion (1980-84), followed by the Teacher, the paper of the National Union of Teachers (now NEU), until 1987, and then the weekly Ilea News, the organ of the Inner London Education Authority. While at the Journalist, he also worked for the TUC and the Fire Brigades Union paper, the Firefighter.
Colleagues remember him as a meticulous and fast operator, though occasionally irascible. His personal style was marked by a proclivity for the colour orange in his wardrobe, and when he still had hair, it was red. A leader of a pub quiz team, he was spectacularly well informed, excelling in politics, literature, history, jazz, and flamenco music.
Later Years and Philanthropic Legacy
In 2006, he married Linda Quinn. Together in 2015, they took over the Brixton Blog and Bugle, a news blog and free monthly newspaper in south London, where he had lived and worked for more than 40 years. There, he trained young people in community journalism, though financial constraints made it challenging to retain them as they moved on to colleges or jobs.
Alan’s generosity extended to producing publicity materials for friends and acquaintances, such as promoting a gallery for exiled artists or a promising playwright, and creating books of poems—always refusing payment. Last year, as a lifelong supporter of the Palestinian people, he was invited to join the new publication, the Palestine News. He participated in an online meeting with the team just hours before his sudden death at home.
Linda died in 2021. He is survived by his sisters, Janet and Angela. Alan Slingsby’s legacy as a journalist-philanthropist continues to inspire those in media and community activism.
