Norm Worth was the kind of journalist who eschewed the phone in favour of a face-to-face chat.
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He went directly to the source to gather his facts, could spell many an obscure word and when his pen was down he would give you his all.
That’s the kind of man he was.
Mr Worth – a former Maitland Mercury editor and veteran Hunter journalist – died suddenly yesterday in Tasmania.
He was 75.
Mr Worth started his longstanding journalism career at the now defunct Taree Champion newspaper.
He moved onto the Manning River Times before taking up a position at the Maitland Mercury in the 1960s.
“Norm came to Maitland on a one-year loan and stayed for the rest of his life,” long time friend and former Maitland Mercury general manager Dan Austin said yesterday.
Mr Worth eventually became editor of the Mercury and relief editor at papers in Cessnock, Singleton and Armidale.
But it was his role as editor of the Singleton Argus that became the highlight of his journalistic career.
“Norm established strong community relations in Singleton and during his time as editor he was credited for successfully campaigning for the retention of the Australian Army Base in Singleton,” Mr Austin said.
“He had a very warm and generous personality and got his news directly from the people.
“His services to Singleton were many and when he retired he was given a public farewell.”
Mr Austin described his former colleague as a good friend and a good journalist.
“Norm was an old fashioned journalist who would gather his own news and because of his warm personality he got on tremendously well with people,” Mr Austin said.
“I will remember him as a genuine man . . . an honest man who was admired by many.”
Mr Worth was also involved in the Lions movement and was a loyal supporter of the Maitland RSL sub-branch.
“Norm was on the committee and also trained and volunteered his time as a pension officer,” sub-branch president and chaplain Eric Bell said.
“Norm was one of nature’s true gentlemen, nothing was a drama and he was there to help whenever he could.
“He will be greatly missed.”
CEO and publisher of Fairfax Regional Media, Allan Browne, said Mr Worth was a “frontiers man” as the editor of several publications across the Hunter and New England area.
Mr Browne said Mr Worth did an outstanding job in communicating with the communities in which he worked, and also played a pivotal role in training younger journalists.
“Norm was an outstanding editor and, more importantly, an outstanding person and he will be missed in the Hunter and New England for his contribution to regional newspapers and their communities,” he said.
