I’ve served 40 years, but I miss the days of the hot metal caseroom

By Steve Finan

December 15 2019, 5:26pm

On Tuesday I reached a personal landmark, 40 years in the newspaper industry.

I started on December 10, 1979, as an apprentice compositor in what was called a caseroom. This was where the pages of newspapers were composed.

Each line of type was a lead slug. Every line was in mirror-writing. I was taught to read this reversed type and can, to this day, read back-to-front and upside down.

I am proud of the grounding in the English language I was given. We apprentices were kept in line by overseers who demanded perfection. Mistakes were not permitted.

Apprentices attended mandatory evening classes. We digested lists of difficult-to-spell words and would be tested on the likes of “fuchsia” or “minuscule”. This education was supplemented by stints as copyholders in the readers department. I thought I could read, but these learned men and women taught me to read professionally. It is very different.

Words weren’t merely read, they were examined. Correct spelling was just a start. Each word was considered in isolation, its meaning fully understood, its position in its sentence decided upon. Punctuation was applied with precision. Sentences had to obey the laws of grammar but flow naturally. They had to be in the correct tense, fit into paragraphs logically, and convey meaning in crystal clear fashion.

I’d contend that staff in newspaper readers departments possessed better English skills than linguistics professors. Hour after hour, day after day, these individuals did nothing but assiduously read galley proofs. That, I can tell you, required a mental stamina bordering upon the superhuman.

Technology changed my world in the 1980s. Hot metal caserooms are long gone. I’ll never again hear the clacking, thrumming sound of a linotype machine or smell that mix of ink, boiling lead and petrol (used for cleaning type).

I became a journalist and my caseroom training gave an ideal start in the job.

What I’m trying to say is that I do not possess English qualifications beyond Higher level – and that it doesn’t matter. I found a way to get the job I’d always wanted.

I was taught to value the English language and, ever since, have dedicated myself to learning more every day. Anyone who doesn’t strive to improve their English is a complacent fool.

We can all have good English skills with a disciplined approach to the task of learning. I must admit, mind you, I was given a “tough love” sort of help with the discipline.