Scanning and retouching pics from newsprint

[Carter64]

I found an old pic of mine from several decades back and for nostalgia's sake, wanted to save it. The only copy remaining was on faded cheap newsprint (PhotoMart, or something), so I knew it'd be a challenge.
The biggest problem is the way newsprint pics are printed, quite large dots on rough textured paper.
I had a go, determined not to spend days at it yet get something that looked close to my memory of the original.
I'd appreciate any suggestions as to how I could have done, or could do, better. GIMP specific would be nice but I can pretty much 'translate' from PS to GIMP
First is a selection from the scan, second is after I've bugg........ altered it.

And finally, the 'finished' article:

 

[MisterE]

Not sure how you got rid of the 'net' effect as seen on the bodies - a common result of scanning magazines etc. The generally used method is to apply a touch of Guassian Blur, adjusted to taste.

 

[Carter64]

I found two filters from the g'mic set of plug-ins for GIMP called 'Anisotropic smoothing' and 'bilateral filtering', simply by thinking, oooh, that looks useful, haven't a clue what it means, though, lets give it a bash lol. They did most of the donkey work, making it easier for me to clean up larger areas quickly with fuzzy select, fill, and then a little air and paint brushing of details.
I gave the straight Gaussian blur a go but couldn't seem to hit the happy medium.
Would I be right in thinking the two filters I mentioned are more or less refined Guassian filters?

As an aside, I tried them on colour pics, took 20 years off my face