Eric Gordon launched the Tribune in 2003

TODAY (Friday) marks the third anniversary of the death of Eric Gordon, the founder of the Islington Tribune and editor for almost 20 years.

The nature of our newspaper’s set-up is a collective, co-operative endeavour and the product of many, many people’s hard work.

But there is no escaping the guiding role that Eric played in making sure Islington still has a defiantly independent and campaigning local newspaper – the sort which simply does not exist in other parts of London and the UK.

He saw that news, information and scrutiny was part of a community’s basic needs – not something that big companies should be trying to make huge profits on.

There were never any fat pay packets for executives or dividends for unseen share­holders – we do not have any!

Instead, the money raised from advertising and sponsorship was put directly into producing good quality journalism.

That shouldn’t be a novel idea, but it is strangely rare in an industry often at war with itself.

Eric, a gruff boss with a conversely avuncular character, was, whether he realised it or not, a mentor to a cast of journalists who have either stayed here to keep the flame alive at the Tribune and our sister newspaper, the Camden New Journal, or graduated to sparkling careers in the national media.

He was an inspiring, natural journalist still filing columns up to his death at 89.

But his legacy is wider – he gave people struggling to be heard a voice, spoke truth to power and held public authority to account.

A fine recipe for any newspaper.