Former Daily Telegraph Editor Les Hoffman Dies Weeks After Wife Janet

Former Daily Telegraph editor Les Hoffman died at age 84, passing away exactly three weeks after his wife Janet on what would have been her 80th birthday, according to family and colleagues. News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller remembered Mr Hoffman as a revered newspaper man belonging to a remarkable generation of journalists who knew how to ruffle feathers while maintaining solid friendships.

A Life Shaped by Journalism and War

Mr Hoffman had a lifelong connection to the news industry, tracing back to his father, Leslie Charles Hoffman. According to historical accounts, his pregnant mother fled the fall of Singapore in 1942 believing her husband had been killed. His father survived imprisonment by the Japanese, eventually sharing a cell wall with a director of The Straits Times who offered him a job after the war. Mr Hoffman recalled first meeting his father as a four-year-old after his release. Born into this media lineage, Mr Hoffman attended boarding school in Perth before moving to Malaysia, where he met his future wife Janet at a military ball.

Newsroom Career Across Australia

After relocating to Australia, Mr Hoffman built a decades-long career spanning multiple states and mastheads. According to Michael Miller, Mr Hoffman’s career took him through Melbourne, Canberra, and Adelaide before he took the helm as editor of The Daily Telegraph in Sydney during the mid-1980s. Alan Howe, The Australian’s History Editor who first met Mr Hoffman in 1978 when he served as sports editor of The News in Adelaide, recalled his calm demeanor under pressure. “Les always handled the pressure with placid confidence and humour all newspapers need,” Mr Howe said, adding wryly, “But his safari suits were ill-advised.”

Leadership and Legacy at News Corp

Following his tenure editing The Daily Telegraph, Mr Hoffman transitioned to editing magazines and syndications before leading the media team for the Sydney Olympics. Colleagues remember his sharp editorial instincts combined with genuine personal warmth. The Australian’s columnist Janet Albrechtsen recalled how the Hoffmans altered the trajectory of her life when she was homesick and heartbroken in Sydney as a young law clerk. “They were going overseas so they offered me their house and threw the keys to their car at me,” she said, noting that even after she crashed their Volvo the next day, they allowed her to stay for 18 months. She later met her husband in Sydney and fulfilled her ambition of writing for a newspaper.

“Leslie would often say to me when we spoke, ‘so who have you pissed off this week?’” Ms Albrechtsen recalled. “Leslie was a tough journo who knew our job is to ruffle feathers, especially those with over-inflated egos and underdeveloped competencies. He was a larrikin, who loved a politically incorrect laugh, a stiff drink, a good curry, his mates, and, above all, his family.”

Final Farewell and Memorial Plans

Mr Hoffman retired in 2004, after which he and Janet moved to Ocean Shores near Byron Bay in northern New South Wales. He died three weeks to the day after Janet passed away. Their daughter Michelle noted that a memorial originally planned for Janet will now honor them both. “As in life, Mum did all the organising, set up for the party and then Dad would turn up with the booze and the ice just in time for the party to start,” she said. On behalf of News Corp Australia, Michael Miller extended sympathies to Mr Hoffman’s daughters Michelle and Kim, his extended family, and his many friends.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Les Hoffman?

Les Hoffman was a former editor of The Daily Telegraph who died at age 84.

When did Les Hoffman pass away?

He passed away exactly three weeks after his wife Janet died, on what would have been her 80th birthday.

What were his major career milestones?

Mr Hoffman worked in newsrooms across Melbourne, Canberra, and Adelaide before editing The Daily Telegraph in the mid-1980s, later leading News Corp’s coverage of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.