Veteran journalist Balford Henry dies at 74

Veteran journalist Balford George Henry has died at age 74.

Henry died in hospital on Monday afternoon following a brief illness.

He had a journalism career spanning more than five decades, working with both of Jamaica’s major daily newspapers – The Gleaner and The Jamaica Observer – as well as the Jamaica Information Service (JIS).

He also worked as a correspondent for the New York Daily News and WLIB Radio in New York. During the 1990s, he served as editor of Reggae Times and as a reporter for the Overseas Gleaner (North America Edition) in New York.

Henry was conferred with the Order of Distinction in the rank of Officer (OD) in 2011 for distinguished service to journalism.

In an interview with the JIS ahead of the award, Henry said he “simply loves to write”. He entered journalism in the summer of 1971 while he was a sixth-form student at Wolmer’s Boys’ School in Kingston.

Over the course of his career, Henry covered a wide range of beats, including general and local government elections, labour relations, the economy, as well as entertainment. He was also one of Jamaica’s top Parliamentary reporters.

He was also recognised for his reporting and feature writing, winning the Press Association of Jamaica’s Best Story Award for his coverage of the funeral of reggae icon Bob Marley in 1981.

He later received the PAJ’s first Cultural Story Award for his feature, Fall of a Superstar, which examined the rise and fall of Jamaican reggae singer Junior Byles.

In 2019, he was honoured by the PAJ as a veteran journalist for his contribution to the profession.

Henry was a Fellow of the Commonwealth Press Union and a Thomson Foundation scholar, earning a diploma in journalism in Cardiff, Wales. In 1983, he was among 12 journalists from around the world selected by the World Press Institute for a fellowship at Macalester College in St Paul, Minnesota.

Although recently retired, Henry continued to work as a freelance writer for The Jamaica Observer up to the time of his death.

He leaves behind a distinguished legacy in Jamaican journalism, having covered some of the country’s major political, social, economic and cultural developments over several decades.

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