Edref

Edref was a victim of Google [Reuters closes Edref, David Cutler leaves]. The writing had been on the wall since the 1990s when Internet search engines and CD encyclopaedias like Microsoft’s Encarta became widely available. It is a tribute to Dave Cutler and company that Edref managed to live for so long. I remember the time when desk editors could not do without the Reuters Library. We would call the library, which was on another floor, for background material and a messenger would arrive with an armful of files. It used to be a ritual for the late-shift Edref staffer to hand over the library keys to the World Desk editor-in-charge before going home for the night. During the overnight shift, senior sub-editors would sometimes disappear for an hour or two “to look up something in the library”. ■