Rory Channing - golden days

I am deeply saddened to hear of the death of Rory Channing. A fine hack and a nice bloke.

During the 1990s, as financial news editor for EMEA, I found it mighty difficult to keep track of all the financial/economic news on offer throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Luckily for me I could essentially outsource sub-Saharan Africa to Rory, who was at that time the Joburg-based Reuters roving Africa economic correspondent. His deep knowledge of both the continent and the demands of our financial and economic news files assured me that - at least on his patch - all that could be done was being done.

Unsurprisingly the key area of reporting from South Africa itself was the gold industry. Sometimes I used to tease Rory over that fact that his reports were inevitably bullish. Quite properly he would remind me that all the authorities on gold there were committed bulls. He was simply reporting what those experts said. How he would have delighted in finding a bear! Time has proved that all his sources - in government, industry and trade - called the price correctly. If I'm not mistaken, gold has tripled in the past 25 years or so!

Rory was very much a quiet professional. He simply put his head down and got on with whatever assignment he had (grouching no more or less than the rest of us). After not having seen him for more than a decade I met him and his wife some years ago at one of those indispensable Baron's Bashes organised in London by Mary and Rick Norsworthy. It was really great to catch up and share memories, albeit amid healthy cynicism, on "the good old days" (formerly known as "these trying times"). ■