James Cameron (journalist)

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Mark James Cameron (17 June 1911 – 26 January 1985) was a prominent British journalist, in whose memory the annual James Cameron Memorial Lecture is given.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Cameron was born in Battersea, London of Scottish parentage; his father, William Ernest Cameron, was a barrister who also wrote novels under the pseudonym Mark Allerton. His mother was Margaret Douglas (Robertson) Cameron.

[edit] Career

Cameron began his career as an office dogsbody with the Weekly News in 1935. Having worked for Scottish newspapers and for the Daily Express in Fleet Street, he was rejected for military service in World War II. After the war, his experience reporting on the Bikini Atoll nuclear experiments turned him into a committed pacifist and a founding member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. He continued to work for the Express until 1950, when he briefly joined Picture Post, where he and photographer Bert Hardy covered the Korean War, winning the Missouri Pictures of the Year Award for "Inchon". Picture Post editor Sir Tom Hopkinson lost his job when he defended the pair over their Pusan U.N. atrocities coverage, as publisher Sir Edward G. Hulton opted to self-censor the story.

In 1952, Cameron wrote a poignant obituary essay for the Illustrated London News, The King Is Dead, about the passing of King George VI. Cameron then spent eight years with the News Chronicle. In 1953 he visited Albert Schweitzer in Lambaréné, in French Equatorial Africa (now Gabon) and found significant flaws in the practices and attitudes of Schweitzer and his staff.[1] This was the subject of "The Walrus and the Terrier" a BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play by Christopher Ralling, which was broadcast on Monday 7th April 2008.[2]

Cameron also did illustration work, especially in his early career. Working in Scotland for D. C. Thomson, he provided drawings for the sensationalist items carried in Thomson's publications. At one point he rebelled when asked to draw a murder of a young girl, over-embellishing it with excesses of blood and other grisly detail. Called to Thomson's office, to his surprise he was rebuked merely for exposing her underwear, with no mention of the blood.

He was married three times, to Elma, Elizabeth and Moni; and had three children, Desmond, Elma and Fergus. Cameron's first wife, Elma, died in childbirth near the start of World War II.

Besides journalism and history, Cameron wrote two volumes of autobiography: Point of Departure, a chronicle of his life, and An Indian Summer, about his relationship with India; his marriage to Moni, an Indian; and his serious car accident and near death in Calcutta.

With the advent of television, Cameron became well-known as a broadcaster, presenting several BBC series including Cameron Country. He also wrote a successful radio play, The Pump (1973), based on his experience of open heart surgery. In his last years, he wrote a regular column for The Guardian.

James Cameron died on January 26, 1985, after a long illness. He was 73 years old.

[edit] James Cameron Awards for Journalism

There is an annual James Cameron Award Ceremony held in London.

Previous Winners Include:

2004

  • James Cameron Memorial Award for Outstanding Journalism, John Ware
  • Special Posthumous Award, Paul Foot

2002

  • James Cameron Memorial Award for reporting from Africa, Chris McGreal

[edit] References

  1. ^ James Cameron Point of Departure, 1966 [1978], Law Book Co of Australasia, p154-74. The bulk of this passage is online here.
  2. ^ "The Walrus and the Terrier" - programme outline

[edit] Bibliography

  • Touch of the Sun (1950)
  • Mandarin Red (1955)
  • 1914: A Portrait of the Year (1959)
  • The African Revolution (1961)
  • 1916: Year of Decision (1962)
  • Men of Our Time (1963)
  • Witness in Vietnam (1966)
  • Point of Departure (1967) ISBN 0-85362-175-6
  • What a Way to Run the Tribe (selected journalism) (1968)
  • An Indian Summer (1974) ISBN 0-14-009569-1
  • The Making of Israel (1976)
  • Wish You Were Here: The English at Play (with Patrick Ward) (1977)
  • The Best of Cameron (1981)

[edit] External links

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