John Schofield was a BBC reporter who was killed whilst covering the former Yugoslavian War in Croatia in August 1995, aged 29. Today, 30 years later, his name is still remembered and associated with nurturing talent and excellence in journalism.

That is because his widow, Susannah Schofield, set up a charity in his name, the John Schofield Trust. It continued his legacy by supporting young journalists through mentoring schemes and focusing on promoting diversity in journalism.

After three decades of running the Trust, she has stepped down. Journalism.co.uk speaks with Susannah Schofield to reflect on her work over the last 30 years.

Q: What's kept you going for the last 30 years running the Trust and how do you feel stepping away from it?

SS: The determination to promote talented young journalists. When John was killed in 1995, I was surrounded by letters of condolence from his colleagues, senior news managers, viewers, listeners, as well as people he had interviewed for his stories. Every one of them praised John’s skills and journalism, predicting a great future in the news industry. None of this John knew. As I sat in the middle of this towering pile of letters, I vowed that no 29-year-old journalist would go to their grave not knowing how much they were valued by their peers.

This sparked the rationale behind setting up the John Schofield Trust – to recognise young journalists. We began with setting up the Young Journalist of the Year (now re-named Emerging Young Talent) award with the Royal Television Society and followed it up in 2012 with our pioneering mentoring scheme for journalists. In 2012, we started with mentoring 22 early-career journalists; today, we mentor 200 journalists each year.

In terms of how I feel, it's relief. The Trust is in great hands with Howard Littler as director and Jonathan Paterson as chair of an incredibly wise and supportive board of trustees. It's a good time to pass the baton on, and I'm glad to be stepping away from the minutiae of the business.

On a personal level, I’m looking forward to reclaiming John’s name rather than always adding 'Schofield Trust' at the end of it.

Q: How would you describe John and what values did he........

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