Phillip Knightley, Australian journalist, Died at 87

  Writers

Phillip George Knightley was born on January 23, 1929, in Sydney and died on December 7, 2016.

He was an Australian journalist, critic, and non-fiction author.

Knightley became a visiting Professor of Journalism at the University of Lincoln, England, and was a media commentator on the intelligence services and propaganda.

Knightley started his career in 1946 as a copyboy with the Sydney Daily Telegraph.

He spent two years as a cadet reporter with The Northern Star (Lismore) followed.

Then, he temporarily left journalism to become a copra trader in Fiji before joining the Oceania Daily News (Suva), which prided itself as being the “First Paper Published in the World Today” because of Suva’s proximity to the International Dateline.

He returned to Australia and worked for The Herald in Melbourne.

Knightley returned to Sydney in 1952 joining the city’s Daily Mirror and covered Elizabeth II’s visit to Australia in 1953/54.

Knightley left for London in November 1954 as a foreign correspondent for the Daily Mirror, and then went to India as managing editor of the Bombay (Mumbai) literary magazine, Imprint.

After migrating to the UK in 1965, he became a special correspondent for the London Sunday Times, remaining there until 1985.

At this time he was a member of the ‘Insight’ investigative team.

When he left The Sunday Times, he contributed literary criticism to the Mail on Sunday (London), The Independent (London), The Australian ‘s Review of Books, The Age (Melbourne), and the New York Review of Books.

Knightley lectured on journalism, law, and war at the Australian National Press Club in Canberra, the Australian Senate, City University, London, University of Manchester, Pennsylvania State University, University of California Los Angeles, Stanford University, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, the Inner Temple, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and to the University of Düsseldorf.

He was married with two daughters called Aliya and Marisa, a son called Kim, and two granddaughters.

Phillip resided inbetween London, Sydney and Goa in India.

Phillip Knightley passed away at 87 years old.