Joan Thirkettle (14 September 1947 – 11 May 1996) was a British
television journalist
Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...
, radio personality and writer. She was one of the first female reporters to work for
ITN, and was part of a team which won the broadcaster a
Royal Television Society Award in 1994 for their coverage of the death of Labour Party leader
John Smith.
Early life
She was born in Kent and attended school at
Bexleyheath Academy
Bexleyheath Academy is a mixed secondary school state school in Bexleyheath, in the London Borough of Bexley. Students typically join the school in year 7 or enter into the sixth form.
History
The school was formed as a result of the merger in ...
in Bexleyheath, Kent. She took an external degree in English at the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
.
Career
Thirkettle began her career in journalism as a trainee researcher with
Associated Rediffusion
Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion London, was the British ITV franchise holder for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 22 September 1955 and 29 July 1968. It was the first ITA franchisee to go on air, a ...
in 1965 and as a researcher for
Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Alan Crawford initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly ...
,
[ before moving into print journalism, first joining the '']Daily Mail
The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
'' and later working for ''The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' as property correspondent and a business writer in 1969. She moved to radio in 1970, reporting for the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
(LBC). She joined ITN the following year and quickly became a familiar presence on television screens.
, Thirkettle was one of the first female reporters to be seen on the broadcaster.
Both Barnes and Thirkettle were recruited by editor Nigel Ryan, and the two were later known as "Ryan's Daughters".
During her career with the broadcaster, Thirkettle reported on more than 1,500 stories, including the
. She was a member of the ITN team which covered the 1994 death of
Award. At the time of her death in 1996 she was considered to be one of the broadcaster's most experienced journalists.