Ray Rumble

Ray Rumble, the champion of Special Services, by which Reuters allowed other foreign correspondents to file over its communications from places off the map. Ancient lore, quite possibly true, has it that Special Services revenue paid for all Reuters costs covering the Vietnam war. 

When I was Chief Correspondent in Lisbon during the Portuguese Revolution in 1974-1975, the great and the good of the world’s press crowded into our hole-in-the-wall office to file their stories through Reuters Special Services. 

This gave them a good opportunity to check up what we were filing. I in return cast the odd glance over what they were sending. Once or twice I detected a story in their publications that they had managed to file independently so that we would not see it. 

I did nothing to discourage the idea that such offenders would henceforth see their copy pushed to the bottom of the pile. I never actually did this, but it kept them honest. In the journalistic sense, that is. 

Ray was an unsung hero of Reuters early glory years. ■