REISS, Charles Alexander 1942-2024
Richard R
Obit in the Times of 4 April 2024:
E X T R A C T
Charles Reiss obituary: journalist whose Iraq story haunted the Blair government
Quietly formidable political editor of the Evening Standard who was one of the finest reporters of his generation
…Reiss was a quietly formidable operator on one of the most demanding newspapers in Fleet Street, the capital’s last surviving evening paper. Under the editors Max Hastings, Paul Dacre and Veronica Wadley, he transformed the Standard’s coverage into a driving force for the political news agenda through four daily editions, setting the pace for radio, television and the following day’s press.
He developed a relentless work ethic, rising at 5am and reading the morning papers in a taxi to Westminster in time to file for the 7.30am first edition. Coupling a quick mind with a talent for speed reading, he would devour dense official documents, rarely missing the nuggets buried in the fine print. He had an eagle eye for fresh angles or unguarded comments that breathed new life into stories that politicians fondly hoped had run out of steam. His work rate was such that he rarely finished a meal without being interrupted by a public address system: “Paging Charles Reiss.”
Charles Alexander Reiss, the son of Austrian refugees, was born in Hampstead in 1942. His father, Dr Joseph Reiss, was personal physician to Clarissa Eden, Countess of Avon, and wife of the prime minister Sir Anthony Eden. His mother, Evgenia Marburg, was an actress in Vienna. Charles attended Bryanston School, where he showed an early ease with language and a passion for literature and politics. Academically bright, he might have followed his father into medicine but chose journalism, working for the Hampstead and Highgate News before joining the Labour Party press office in 1968…
… While working in the press gallery, Charles met and later, in 1978, married the news agency journalist Susan Newson-Smith and set up home in Belsize Park. She survives him along with their three daughters: Rowan, a clinical psychologist; Holly, a theatre producer; and Bryony, a writer and teacher.
He was an avid reader, music lover, theatre-goer and fan of the performing arts. Other recreations, according to his Who’s Who entry, included “ranting”.
He split his time between London and Wiltshire, where he and Susan bought a cottage in 1980, and there he took on the role as clerk to the parish council and scriptwriter for the annual Christmas panto…
Charles Reiss, journalist, was born on March 23, 1942. He died of kidney failure and rheumatoid arthritis on March 30, 2024, aged 82