Toronto-based David Thomson (SE 1975) is chairman of the Thomson Reuters Corporation – one of the world’s leading media and information companies which includes the historic Reuters news agency. In this article specially for Selwyn magazine, David reflects on his time at the college and the influence of his extraordinary grandfather. Roy Thomson (RHT) built the company we see today, and during his career he acquired The Times and The Sunday Times – then at the peak of its influence – and launched Scottish Television.

Journalism featured greatly in my life from earliest days. A single recollection stays lodged. My father left me in my grandfather’s Mississauga study as a very young boy. RHT read his newspaper intently with bottle cap glasses drawing him within millimetres of the page. The radio broadcast news at a high decibel. I sat in silence, trying to imbibe his world. 

Our family resided in London during the late 1960s, as my father became chairman of The Times. RHT had a room in our flat and joined us for breakfast several mornings a week. Newspapers, radio, discussion followed. We would visit with him in his home in Buckinghamshire on most weekends. My sister and I adored exploring nature but conversation usually gravitated to newspapers and journalism. I sensed the tension and began to understand the bifurcated world, internal and external. 

My high school days in Toronto passed swiftly. RHT and my father were keen on several US universities but my heart gravitated to the UK. A fellow Cambridge graduate of my father’s time was a tutor at Selwyn, Dr. Ian Muir. He kindly suggested that I apply and write the exams for history. 

I could hardly believe the news of my acceptance, having struggled badly with the sciences and suffered poorly. Selwyn loomed large. I kept to myself, playing ice hockey for the university and taking time to pursue the art world alongside history studies. RHT lived mostly alone in his Buckinghamshire home. I risked reprimand in driving off far too often to sit with him. He was in the midst of dictating his autobiography After I was Sixty (1976). The tales of encounters with Khrushchev, Chairman Mao, Sadat, J. Paul Getty, Hammer and many other figures were redolent. He read prodigiously from our imprints: Hamish Hamilton, Michael Joseph, Sphere Books. I would hear him speak to the press room seeking to learn of the copies of The Sunday Times that made the delivery vehicles. 

Selwyn was a crucial part of my journey in heightening the familial realms that espoused journalism

David Thomson

The first oil concessions in North Sea were in play. RHT had weighed and accepted the risk of joining the consortium of Occidental Petroleum Corp., Getty Oil (Britain) Ltd. and Allied Chemical (North Sea) Ltd. My father had taken us to our Claymore oil field off Wick when RHT suffered a major stroke on June 21 1976. He fought hard to recover but passed away in early August. My father took the reigns thereafter. I would become closer to the businesses which found themselves drifting towards America with the newfound resources from North Sea oil. 

International Thomson began to pursue professional content businesses at the dawn of the digital age. Thomson Newspapers continued a parallel path within their sector, and TRN (Thomson Regional Newspapers) was also at its zenith. I was blessed to have ample exposure to the leaders of both newspaper groups, and especially The Sunday Times under Sir Harry Evans’ leadership. I adored the man, and so deeply admired his indefatigable nature and resolve to hold power to account. RHT sensed a kindred spirit in Harry, and the two were inseparable throughout the heyday on the paper with its colour supplements and investigative teams. Our family has never stood taller. 

Selwyn was a crucial part of my journey in heightening those familial realms that espoused journalism and its ability to shape lives for the better. RHT and my father would scarcely believe our present course with Reuters, and The Globe and Mail. They so admired the former and cherished the latter. I feel immensely proud to be alongside these fabled news organizations. The present leadership is fuelled by a passion and resolve to make a difference in our world. We stand upon the shoulders of Sir Harry and a host of brilliant journalists that shaped these legacies. The future has never looked brighter. The ‘glass must always remain half full’. 

Selwyn College permitted time and space to observe, reflect and shape directions for my life. I am grateful. The memories rekindle warm moments.