PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC

Veteran Trinidadian journalist George Radcliff John died yesterday at the Eric Williams Medical Complex in Trinidad, relatives said.

John, 86, who worked with the print media for more than 50 years, had been diagnosed with throat cancer a few years ago.

A former senior lecturer in journalism at the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Jamaica, he also served on the Commonwealth Journalist Association and was a lifelong member of the Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago (MATT).

Former editor

John was a former editor of the Trinidad Guardian, and Trinidad Express newspapers, the general manager of the Dominica Broadcasting Corporation and an events analyst with the British Broadcasting Corporation.

He also worked at The Gleaner's head office in Kingston from which he was assigned to cover two election campaigns of then Premier Norman Manley in 1959 and 1962.

"He was exceedingly funny and perpetually young," said Paget deFreitas, editor/overseas publications, at The Gleaner. "Well into old age he had a very sharp mind and a sense of being West Indian."

Outside of journalism, John, who was given an honorary degree by the UWI in 2005, was also a public relations specialist working for both the private and public sector, including serving as press officer to Dr. Eric Williams, the Trinidad's first Prime Minister.

In 2002, he published his autobiography entitled "Beyond the Front Pages".

John, an avid football fan and calypso lover, was the founding member and first president of the Malvern Sports Club.

He is survived by his wife and three children, including Deborah, an editor at the Trinidad Express.