ABC newsroom stalwart dies suddenly

Updated September 01, 2011 00:21:39

ABC News has suffered another loss with the sudden death of long-serving Sydney chief of staff Bernie Keenan.

Keenan, 66, began his career as a camera man in commercial television.

He went on to become the chief of staff for the Seven Network, but spent most of the past decade with the ABC.

The director of ABC News, Kate Torney, says Keenan will be greatly missed.

“Bernie drove our news gathering operations in NSW and was a central figure across the network,” she said.

“He was a warm and generous colleague and we will miss him greatly.”

Don Lange, ABC head of news programming described Keenan as “a stalwart of the newsroom”.

“He will be sadly missed in Sydney and around the network,” he said.

ABC spokeswoman Jane Wilson said Keenan had gone for a run and collapsed from a heart attack.

He was taken to hospital, where he died, she said.

It has been a tragic month for the ABC, with the deaths of three veteran newsmen in a helicopter crash.

Journalist Paul Lockyer, pilot Gary Ticehurst and cameraman John Bean died in a helicopter crash near Lake Eyre in South Australia two weeks ago.

And last week, the man behind many of the ABC’s flagship television programs, Ian Carroll, died from pancreatic cancer.

ABC/AAP

Tags:

death,
journalism,
broadcasting,
sydney-2000

First posted September 01, 2011 00:17:44

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