Death of NCTJ’s ‘king of quality and standards’
Sean Dooley, chair of the NCTJ’s quality assurance and standards committee, has died.
Sean Dooley, chair of the NCTJ’s quality assurance and standards committee, has died.
Since his appointment to the role in 2007, Sean oversaw the quality and fairness of NCTJ qualifications. His appointment was made shortly after the NCTJ achieved recognition as a professional awarding body by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (now Ofqual).
On hearing the news of his death, Joanne Butcher, chief executive of the NCTJ, said:
“A long-serving and highly-respected editor, Sean inspired so many young regional newspaper reporters and supported them in their careers.
“He went on to do a brilliant job overseeing the transparency and fairness of NCTJ qualifications. Sean was forensic and fair – always on top of the detail which kept us on our toes.
“He was a legend in our industry and very special to the NCTJ and to me personally. My last memory of Sean is him smiling at me across the room at the House of Lords where we were celebrating the NCTJ’s 70th anniversary. I described him as ‘our steadfast king of quality and standards’.
“Heartfelt condolences from all of us at the NCTJ to Judith and his children, and all his family, friends and former colleagues.”
Sean began his journalism career at the Mercury Press Agency and worked for weekly and daily papers in Liverpool and Manchester. He was news editor of the Lincolnshire Echo and deputy editor of the South Wales Evening Post. He edited the Gloucestershire Echo before moving to Stoke, editing the Sentinel for 18 years.
