MEETING WITH RUPERT MURDOCH OVER CONTROVERSIAL EDITORIAL : Continuing biog of Crusading Editor ,"Big Jim" Bowditch

The  morning after  Bowditch resigned, the  staff of 14 reporters  and  three photographers  stopped work  and   questioned  manager  Brian   Young over him  removing  and  refusing to run Jim's editorial  in the Northern Territory News  about  millionaire  businessman  Mick Paspalis , who  had  died .  In  brief  replies, Young  is  said to have  told  them  that  the staff could not see the  editorial ; he would not tell them what  was in the  editorial  and why  he had  stopped it from being run . Furthermore, he  told the staff  there  would  be  no guidelines issued for  future interference in  editorial  matters.  

The Australian Journalists’ Association in Sydney  advised the staff to return to work.  Instead, they  struck for 24 hours.  and came back to work with a list of demands . They again asked to be told why the  editorial  had been withdrawn  saying “ the action was  so apparently arbitrary and without precedent  that it had cast  doubt on  the competence  of   both staff and  editor  ”. The staff  also said that the  action taken was an  abnegation  of an editor’s historical  right of  free comment.  

BOWDITCH  DEMANDS  TOTAL  CONTROL

Young replied that  he reserved the right to withdraw any editorial matter, at any time,  for any reason, and no reasons would ever be given . Bowditch  requested the staff take no further  action  until he  contacted  Murdoch, who was in London .  A member of the Trades and Labour Council  promised support if the staff  decided to go out  and the  printing staff  said they would  not  handle  “scab ”  copy or layout . Bowditch told  the staff  he would not  return as editor  unless he continued   to have  total  control of  editorial policy  which he had had for 17 years. 

 

One  southern   newspaper report stated   Ken  May, Murdoch's close  advisor ,  had  advised  Bowditch  not  to  ring  Murdoch   over  the  impasse    as  he was  “ a gruff  man on the phone”. A detailed letter  would suffice.

 

The  funeral of Mick  Paspalis was attended by  News  Limited  chairman , Sir Norman  Young, who had handled   Paspalis  financial matters   for some 30  years. Journalist Kim Lockwood  wrote  a short obituary  that appeared only in The West Australian. " It  was  pretty bland -- certainly didn't mention any  illegal  gambling joints -- but a couple of  days after  it  was published three men  arrived unannounced at  my door and told me ( not  asked  me) to  publish a correction(?). I explained I couldn't and they went  away  muttering. I  must say I  felt  slightly  threatened."

A meeting was eventually arranged   with Murdoch  to  decide Bowditch’s  future  at the paper .  Bowditch , accompanied by  Betty,  went to   Sydney for the  meeting.   They travelled  via  Brisbane because   Jim  had  to produce papers  to confirm   his identity  to claim his $40,000  lottery win.  In fact, they were so short of money  they obtained a bank loan for  the trip south.   They subsequently   went to  the  Ansett  hotel in Sydney .   A number of  journalists and others  converged on the  hotel   to party  on with Jim  and discuss the  important   forthcoming  meeting with  Murdoch . It was  evidently a  lively evening  as the    hotel  management  next morning  asked  Bowditch to leave.  He and  Betty  then  moved to  the Gazebo at  Kings Cross.   

 

NIGHTCLUBBING  WITH  THE  WILD ONE

 

The Bowditches  went  nightclubbing   with  the  Freedens who had married in Darwin , Freeden a  prominent  Sydney  PR man , newsletter and  travel publisher  . They also  met up with   the rock'n'roll  singer Johnnie O’Keefe , renowned for his  Wild One  song  and Shout! ;   Betty  recalled  going to a Leagues club where   O’Keefe  was performing and  he  dedicated  a song  to  Jim and Betty  Bowditch .  After  the  performance   they   went to the Mandarin Club  and  Johnny O’Keefe , who had  supplied  Jim with a  flash wardrobe to wear on the disastrous trip to Seattle to see the  big Boeings fly, came  along . 

It was a hectic  time in Sydney and then Jim  had to go to the all - important meeting  with Murdoch . Murdoch  reportedly   started proceedings by asking  what the matter was all about . Young   stated   he thought the  Paspalis    editorial  had not been suitable.  Bowditch asked  Young to   produce the  editorial  and point  out  what ,  in his opinion ,  was  undesirable.  According to Bowditch, Young did  not   produce the contentious  editorial and  said it  had been  destroyed. Murdoch, going on  Bowditch’s  acccount, had  looked furious when told this .  Bowditch offered to  type out  the editorial from   memory but   Murdoch  had not agreed  to  this course of  action.  At one stage  Bowditch was asked to leave the room . It was then  decided that Bowditch would  return  as  editor. 

While in Sydney  on that occasion  something  “strange ” happened to Bowditch . He thought he had a stroke , but  did not tell anyone about it, not even  his wife.   It may well have been  a  bad hangover or  due to the marijuana he and   O’Keefe had   been smoking.  

However,   when told of   this so-called stroke , Betty Bowditch , in  the year 2000 ,  doubted  such  an occurrence.  She put forward the proposition that it might  have been another instance, through  alcoholism ,  of  him  seeking sympathy .  She told of once  being told   by a friend  how sad it was that Jim was  dying from  prostate  cancer.   The informant  said Jim had told him  about his cancer.    Not knowing  he had cancer,  Betty had been  shocked  and   spoke to  Jim’s doctor.   The doctor  said he did not have cancer. During the conversation   the doctor said   Jim  needed to drink  more milk  because he was thin .  His  claims of being seriously ill  might  have been   a way of seeking sympathy   and a  cover  for    excessive drinking.  On another occasion, Bowditch, after   a heavy drinking  bout, told  this writer  that he had  bowel cancer and did  not expect to live much longer. 

 

AN  OLD  FASHIONED  REPORTER

After the meeting with  Murdoch, Bowditch   and Young both  returned to Darwin  on the same plane .   Although he was back as  the editor , he sensed that things would never be the same .   Apart from the  confrontation with Young,  Bowditch knew that  there were people within the  News organisation  who  did not like his style of doing things.  He had once overheard  an  NT News  executive, not  Young,  saying  over the phone  that  Bowditch was  an old fashioned reporter who  did not fit into the  modern  newspaper office.  Bowditch  confronted the executive  and gave him an old fashioned broadside . 

It is  fair to say  that  Bowditch’s  eventual split with the  News  was  inevitable , even  of his own making.   However, events had taken   place which clearly indicated  Bowditch , put simply, was cracking up .  Under  pressure  at work  and putting in  long hours , he had been  drinking  large amounts of  alcohol, especially  whisky,  which   brought back the   horror of his  wartime  mutiliation of  the  young  enemy soldier  on  Tarakan  , when he  paddled  ashore  to carry out a highly dangerous pre-invasion recce.  After one  heavy drinking session  he had been  seen  under his desk  at work   barking like a dog.    Clearly, he needed  medical  help, but was soldiering on , in a fashion, which  could only lead to  another confrontation or  a  major break down  in his health.   At one stage he   had joined  Alcoholics  Anonymous ; he even took medication which  made him  ill each time he  touched   alcohol.  Despite these  measures, he  resumed drinking . NEXT : Sacked .