Former journalism tutor Gerry Kreibich has launched his memoirs on the Internet.

Following the success of a number of networking ventures, where former colleagues and students have been in touch, Gerry decided it was time to put the story of training’s early days on record.

He is perhaps best known to hundreds of journalists as a lecturer from Richmond (later Stradbroke) College in Sheffield, where he taught journalism.

He started his career on the Warrington Guardian and was later a reporter on the Manchester City News, a sub on the Newark Advertiser and a roving Peak District man on the Derbyshire Times, before becoming editor of the Matlock Mercury.

When he went into full-time training in the early 70s, Gerry joined Ron Eyley and Frank Littlewood at what was then Richmond College.

They were pioneering days for journalism training, and Gerry’s online work is called Memoirs of a Pioneer Journalism Lecturer .

As you would expect from a wordsmith, there’s never a dull moment in his online volume, which stretches to ten meaty chapters and some extras – such as old class photos and thoughts on teaching today.

Gerry said: “The work was largely experimental – methods that worked well were constantly improved, bright ideas that failed were abandoned. Thus were laid the foundations of much that happens today in colleges and universities all over Britain.”

It’s also an easy-to-access read: “The chapter-headings give an overview of the whole 60,000 words. Some may want to read the entire thing in sequence – it’s a crackin’ good tale! – but anyone who wants to dip in here and there will find that – apart from occasional cross-references – each chapter will stand alone.

“It was going to be a book – but publishers persuaded me that journalists don’t buy books! If you are interested in the training of journalists, for whatever reason, I think you’ll find this stuff entertaining… and perhaps even useful.”