He suffered fools badly, and saw his articles as part of a high-minded battle of ideas.
A sub editor once dared to complain that one piece was difficult to understand.
“I only wrote this for three people”, came the lofty reply, the editor of the Times, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Governor of the Bank of England.”
Jay attempted to follow his father into politics, but failed to be selected as the Labour candidate for Islington South West for the 1970 General Election.
So, he moved into television.
In the 1970s, he presented a news analysis programme called Weekend World for London Weekend Television where he became close friends with the programme’s creator, John Birt.
Together, they launched a savage critique of journalistic standards in TV.
Pictures, they complained, took precedence over analysis – and this “bias against understanding” could only be addressed by bringing in experts and putting them in front of camera.
Later, this “mission to explain” became a central feature of Birt’s time as director general of the BBC.
