Steve White

Posted: January 1, 2025

STEVE WHITE’S funeral will be held on Tuesday, January 21, at 11.30 am at Oldham Crematorium (Hollinwood Cemetery), Roman Rd, Oldham OL8 3LU

Tributes have been paid to Daily Mirror legend Stephen White, who died on December 30, [2024] after a short illness. He was 66. He worked for the paper for 42 years, rising through the ranks from reporter to northern news editor then assistant editor (regions). He launched the Mirror’s Scottish and Welsh editions, and covered stories at home and abroad.

Daily Mirror editor-in-chief Caroline Waterston said: “Steve was a legend in the newsroom, not only for his incredible journalistic skill but for his hard working attitude and dedication. He loved to help others and bring out the best in everyone. He will forever be remembered as a true Mirror man.”

Former Mirror editor Alison Phillips said: “Steve, or ‘Stephen’ as his mother insisted in bylines, was one of the finest journalists of his generation. He lived for stories; either writing them throughout his incredible career at the Mirror or telling them to his delighted audience in the newsroom or the pub.

“He was incredibly loyal and unselfish and was hugely supportive to me on the Sunday and Daily Mirrors (as well as the short lived but much loved The New Day). He will be hugely missed.”

Tributes online – Former colleague Krissy Storrar: “He was so much more than a boss or a journalist. He was probably the nicest, kindest, wisest, funniest friend I’ve had.”

Shaun Milne: “Steve was always the calm in the storm, an endless source of encouragement, and above all, fun. Incredibly lucky to have worked with him.”

Ex-Mirror man Brian Roberts described him as an ‘absolute gem’, adding: “I worked with him for almost 40 years and had some fantastic times with him. He was a brilliant boss and friend. We were part of a family in Manchester and we all hold treasured memories of him.”

Stephen helped many young reporters. Paul Gallagher, who was a Mirror trainee, recalled: “Starting out, you couldn’t wish for a better guide. Steve made such a big impact and impression, not only on me but on everyone who worked with him. He made a difficult, important job look ridiculously easy and was rightly treasured by the Mirror for decades. Absolutely devastated to hear of his death.”

Stephen’s first shift as a Mirror staff man was April 18, 1982, when he was 23. Photographer Phil Spencer, who met him that day, said: “I liked him straight away. He was a brilliant journalist and a complete workaholic.”

Stephen started his working life as a teenager with Manchester’s Piccadilly Radio, making his name covering the trial of Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe. He reported for the Mirror from the Lockerbie disaster, the Dunblane tragedy, and travelled to Jerusalem and the US on assignment. With the rest of Fleet Street in hot pursuit, he was the first to track down the jockey Lester Piggott on his release from prison in 1988. In the same year, Stephen gave a harrowing account of what became known as the “Corporals’ Killings”, again in Ireland.

Manchester-born and fiercely proud of his Northern roots, he was irreverent, quick-witted and full of fun, inspiring generations of journalists who worked in the Mirror’s Oldham office.

He leaves his much-loved son, Oliver, 29, his beloved godchildren and his former wife Dianne. They were married for 30 years and remained friends throughout his life. “He was a Mirror man through and through,” she said. “He absolutely loved his job.”

When he left the paper last year, he told colleagues: “More than anything, I will miss talking to reporters every day.”

They will miss him more than words can say.