Phil Sewell, Weardale Gazette, 1988-1990.
After the original 1987 Gazette team broke up, Phil Sewell took over as editor and was responsible for the next 22 editions. He was not a journalist but he had experience in the printing industry and wide interests in other fields. Without a doubt, he kept the Weardale Gazette going during the next two years – newsgathering, writing, typesetting and driving hundreds of miles each week to sell advertising space and deliver the paper to newsagents. It was almost a one-man operation, but he kept the thing going.
From Government training courses, he took a typesetter (Sheila Hogarth), a graphic designer (Maureen Thomas) and an office administrator (Hilary Poole). This meant that labour costs were subsidised for a considerable time. Together with Phil, the paper then had a staff of four. Not long afterwards, Phil decided the time had come to leave in order to devote more time to his other interests, especially his consuming passion for insects. He wanted to produce videos for use in educational establishments. Since that time, Phil lived abroad. His death in 1997 came as a shock and brought much sadness to those who had worked with him.