Veteran journalist Ken Reid dies aged 69, family says

Mr Reid was champion known arsenic the long-time governmental exertion of UTV, wherever helium reported connected galore of the worst atrocities of the Troubles earlier chronicling the bid process.

ITV manager of quality Michael Jermey described him arsenic “a towering fig successful broadcasting successful Northern Ireland”.

Mr Reid had antecedently spoken publically astir his conflict with leukaemia and received good wishes from erstwhile premier curate Tony Blair among others.

He was joined to Liz and was begetter to 3 children – Gareth, Sarah and Sophie – and a grandfather.

He had a ringside spot astatine immoderate of the astir important moments of modern past - possibly astir notably the signing of the Good Friday Agreement

Michael Jermey, UTV

Mr Reid’s vocation successful journalism began successful 1977 astatine the News Letter and helium was aboriginal sports exertion and exertion astatine the Sunday News.

He past worked for the Cork Examiner earlier joining UTV successful 1994, wherever helium held a fig of elder editorial positions implicit 27 years earlier his retirement.

During his clip arsenic governmental exertion helium interviewed 7 premier ministers and good arsenic US presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

Mr Jermey said: “Ken was a towering fig successful broadcasting successful Northern Ireland.

“He volition beryllium enormously missed by colleagues successful UTV and close crossed the wider ITV.”

He added: “Ken was a fantastic journalist. Well informed, intelligent and ever utterly impartial successful his attack to reporting.

“He had a ringside spot astatine immoderate of the astir important moments of modern past – possibly astir notably the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

“Ken was supremely good informed and helium shared his heavy cognition with UTV viewers crossed 3 singular decades.

“He was hugely respected close crossed the tv industry. I volition miss him enormously and everyone astatine UTV and ITV nonstop their sincere condolences to his widow, Liz, his children and his household and friends.”

Chris Hagan, exertion of quality astatine UTV, said: “Ken was the maestro of his craft. A superb relation exemplary who acceptable standards.

“People said erstwhile premier ministers talked and they talked astir Northern Ireland, they talked to Ken.

“He had the existent wrong track. It made him astir apt the astir trusted writer successful Northern Ireland.

“People tuned successful due to the fact that they trusted him.”

Mr Reid was primitively from Belfast, but his adopted hometown was Ballymena. He supported Cliftonville and Everton astatine shot and Ballymena Rugby Club.

Earlier this year, helium was honoured with the Chancellor’s Medal for services to journalism, on with erstwhile BBC governmental exertion Stephen Grimason.

Mr Grimason died successful April.

Speaking to the PA quality bureau astir his vocation earlier this year, Mr Reid said: “You don’t marque advancement successful Northern Ireland unless you instrumentality risks – that’s the acquisition (of the bid process).”

He recalled covering atrocities including an IRA weaponry onslaught astatine Narrow Water successful Co Down successful 1979 erstwhile 18 soldiers were killed.

“I retrieve leaving determination and smelling the stench of death, and past the sectarian murders, we experienced that, but past we had the delight of experiencing a governmental process which turned into a bid process and the improvement of the Good Friday Agreement.”