John Mackay Stv: The presenter picks his final tie for one last broadcast

This Friday, John Mackay will choose one last necktie before taking to the studio for a final broadcast, a small ritual that marks a much larger transition. In that moment the broadcaster will join a lifetime of memories that began with paper rounds in Hillington and led to more than three decades presenting on the same channel, john mackay stv is stepping away.

John Mackay Stv: A tie, a paper round and Hillington

He grew up in Hillington, delivering copies of the Evening Times as a child. At about age 11 he did a paper round, and before that he helped his brother with one. Those early mornings and the fascination with headlines were the first practical experiences he names when he reflects on why he liked journalism.

Education also left a clear mark. At Penilee Secondary School an English teacher noticed his writing and suggested he might become a journalist. “I was inspired by a teacher who recognised I enjoyed writing, ” he said. That encouragement followed him into a career that includes working in newspapers and time at the before he joined the regional channel where he would spend decades.

Scotland Tonight special with Rona Dougall and a decision to step back

In a special edition of Scotland Tonight, he sat down with colleague Rona Dougall to reflect on a career spanning four decades and to consider what life after the newsroom might look like. He has said simply, “The time is right, ” and has described the broadcaster’s own sense that changes at the station opened an opportunity to step away.

He told Dougall that finishing a book in the Autumn of 2024 helped with the timing. The book, titled Scotland Today and Yesterday, examined his time in journalism. That finished manuscript, he said, appeared to round things off for him and provided a moment to stop and reassess the next chapter outside daily broadcasting.

2014 Scottish independence referendum and other landmark coverage

Across more than 31 years with the station he covered major events that continue to shape public memory. He listed the 2014 Scottish independence referendum as a particular highlight because of the country’s level of engagement. “Everyone was involved, ” he said, and he remembered the uncertainty about what the result might be.

Earlier in his career he reported on the Piper Alpha disaster and the Dunblane shooting, the latter of which he said still affects him. Over the years he interviewed many political figures and reflected that leaders who fundamentally changed politics were becoming rarer, naming Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and Alex Salmond as examples of figures who, in his view, “for better or worse, made a difference. “

For viewers, his sign-off line has become familiar. He has presented the evening bulletin for decades and is known for the way he opened and closed the broadcast. In the special with Rona Dougall he revisited those routines and the small acts, like choosing a tie, that framed a long working life in front of a camera.

He also spoke about family. His mother, originally from the Western Isles, valued university and professional careers, and she had mixed views about journalism. He joked that her image of journalists was that they were heavy drinkers, yet she supported his ambitions. She died unexpectedly early in his career and did not see his later success in broadcasting; he said he believed she would have been happy if he was happy doing his work.

For now, the next confirmed step is precise: this Friday he will select his last tie and present one final bulletin. That small, deliberate act returns the story to its starting point — a paper round boy in Hillington who came to love headlines, who was encouraged by a teacher, who finished a book in Autumn of 2024, and who will sign off on a long run in the studio.