Senators hail Balford Henry as journalism stalwart

Veteran journalist Balford Henry was remembered in the Senate on Friday as a fixture of Parliament, with legislators recalling his deep knowledge of its workings and his role in guiding younger journalists and parliamentarians.

Senate President Thomas Tavares-Finson said Henry’s long association with Parliament had given him an unusually deep understanding of its procedures, history and personalities, while making him a familiar presence in the Members’ Lounge. Henry spent decades covering Parliament, having first begun sitting in the chamber in 1974, according to Tavares-Finson. The Senate president said that, over the years, Henry became a valuable source of information for younger lawmakers. “In that time, he developed a deep understanding of the procedures of Parliament, and the senate and also had a deep understanding of the history of the Parliament…[and] for a lot of young parliamentarians, he was a source of information and guidance and many of them saw their name in print for the first time under his byline,” he recalled. Government Senator Abka Fitz-Henley, meanwhile, highlighted Henry’s ability to bring newspaper stories to life for readers. He also pointed to one of the veteran journalist’s most notable achievements — his Press Association of Jamaica award for his coverage of Bob Marley’s funeral in 1981. “Balford Henry specialised in print media, but he had a unique ability to cause people who read what he wrote in the newspapers to paint in their imagination a vivid picture of the event that he was covering or whatever activity. That's a unique skill that few people in print media over many years mastered,” he said. Fitz-Henley also credited Henry with teaching him an important part of the craft which is to build reliable sources across different sections of Jamaican society. He recalled Henry’s gentle approach to mentoring younger journalists and said he was among those who benefited from his guidance. “I often say that in the media doing the simple things well often distinguishes those who are considered average from those who stand out in terms of getting information accurate, getting the nuance of a story right, and being fair in what is preferred in the public domain. There is no doubt in my mind that Balford Henry did the simple things well. He mastered the fundamentals of media,” he added. Opposition Senator Lambert Brown recalled knowing Henry from the early 1970s, when the journalist was covering labour matters before moving more heavily into parliamentary reporting. Brown said Henry’s approach to reporting labour disputes was to establish the motivations and positions of both sides, rather than simply reporting one perspective. “He interviewed me on a number of labour issues and he sought all the time to find balance. I will concede that to you. He wanted to know what was the motivation behind a particular strike or negotiations and he sought to get that from both sides,” he said. Henry, who died in hospital on Monday, September 14, at age 74 following a brief illness, entered journalism in 1971 as a trainee reporter with The Gleaner while he was a sixth-form student at Wolmer’s Boys’ School. READ:

Balford Henry, award-winning veteran journalist, dies at 74

Over a career spanning more than five decades, he worked with both The Gleaner and the Jamaica Observer, served as a consulting editor at the Jamaica Information Service and held media positions in New York, including with the New York Daily News and WLIB Radio. He became known particularly for his coverage of labour relations and Parliament, while also reporting on politics, culture and major national events. His journalism earned several Press Association of Jamaica awards, including the Best Story award for his coverage of Bob Marley’s funeral in 1981, and he was conferred with the Order of Distinction in the rank of Officer in 2011 for distinguished service to journalism. - Jerome Williams