Journalist Ken Reid, ‘giant’ of NI broadcasting, dies aged 69 – The Irish Times

Veteran Northern Irish journalist Ken Reid has died after an illness, aged 69, his family have announced.

Mr Reid was known as UTV’s long-serving political editor; here he covered many of the worst atrocities of the Troubles before chronicling the peace process.

ITV news director Michael Jermey described him as “a pivotal figure in broadcasting in Northern Ireland”.

Mr Reid has previously spoken publicly about his battle with leukemia and has received well wishes from former prime minister Tony Blair, among others.

He was married to Liz and was a grandfather and father of three children, Gareth, Sarah and Sophie.

Mr Reid’s journalism career began at the News Letter in 1977 and he later served as sports editor and editor of the Sunday News.

He then worked at the Cork Examiner before joining UTV in 1994 and held a number of senior editorial positions for 27 years before his retirement.

During his tenure as political editor, he interviewed seven prime ministers as well as U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

Mr Jermey said: “Ken was a pivotal figure in broadcasting in Northern Ireland.

“He will be greatly missed by his colleagues at UTV and wider ITV.”

He added: “Ken was a fantastic journalist. He is well informed, intelligent and always very unbiased in his approach to reporting.

“He had a ringside seat at some of the most important moments in modern history, perhaps most notably the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.”

Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill expressed her condolences to Mr Reid’s family and described him as “a true giant in local journalism and an all-round gentleman”.

He said: “Her strength and courage in the face of disease has been an inspiration to many and a strong advocate for raising cancer awareness.”

DUP leader Gavin Robinson described Mr Reid as “his field is huge”.

He added: “Ken was a dedicated journalist in Northern Ireland, someone who managed to get to the heart of all the important political stories and cover difficult topics while retaining the respect, admiration and affection of representatives of all political persuasions.”

Mr Reid was originally from Belfast but his adopted hometown was Ballymena. In football and at Ballymena Rugby Club he supported Cliftonville and Everton.

Earlier this year he, along with former BBC political editor Stephen Grimason, was honored with the Chancellor’s Medal for services to journalism.

Mr. Grimason died in April.

Speaking to the PA news agency about his career earlier this year, Mr Reid said: “You can’t make progress in Northern Ireland unless you take risks – that’s the lesson (of the peace process).”

He recalled covering atrocities including the IRA bomb attack at Narrow Water in Co Down in 1979, in which 18 soldiers were killed.

“I remember leaving there, smelling the smell of death, then we experienced sectarian killings, but then we had the joy of experiencing a political process that turned into a peace process and the development of the Good Friday Agreement.”

A statement from Queen’s University said: “Ken was not only one of our greatest and most respected political reporters, but more importantly, he was a remarkable human being, a man of compassion, humility and basic morality.”