Graham McKenzie, a veteran of Radio Humberside and the Belfast Newsroom, has died.  Graham was also an enthusiastic member of this forum.  This obituary is taken from the Belfast Newsletter:

By MAURICE NEILL
Published on Friday 23 March 2012 08:14

ONE of Northern Ireland’s most respected journalists Graham McKenzie has died aged 72.

Mr McKenzie’s first newspaper, the handwritten Weekly Squeak, was published while he was a pupil at Royal Belfast Academical Institution. It was quickly outclassed in a circulation war by the professionally printed Howl published every fortnight. He was disappointed but not surprised.

He was delighted and greatly surprised to discover a weekly contribution to the Newtownards Chronicle appeared without question – not as surprised as editor Bob McNinch when he discovered his Ballygowan correspondent was a schoolboy.

Carl Anderson occupied the junior’s job, alongside reporters Bill Ireland and Brian Waddell, so the young McKenzie walked into the Belfast Telegraph to ask if there was any work. He became a part-time copytaker for the summer. The job put him close to news editor Freddie Gamble who was impressed by the bright young man’s story ideas and enthusiasm.

When the copy taking stint came to an end, Mr McKenzie ignored the arrangement and continued to turn up for work. Inevitably, he was summoned.

Expecting to be dismissed, he sat shame-faced before Gamble – best known as the comic columnist John Pepper – who asked: “I don’t suppose you would like to be the junior reporter at the Ballymena Telegraph?”

This launched a long and distinguished career in journalism and stoked a lifelong passion for the business of reporting.

He was then transferred from Ballymena to the Newtownabbey district office of the Larne Times.

Though he answered to the editor in Larne, his desk was at the Belfast Telegraph where he drifted onto the staff.

Graham McKenzie served as part of a four-strong parliamentary team, as showbusiness correspondent, transport correspondent and the gossip columnist.

In his lifetime he worked as the Daily Express Ireland correspondent, then as a freelancer back home covering the Belfast Corporation for a range of newspapers and broadcasters, before ending up as BBC Northern Ireland’s business editor. He also served as head of Radio News.

He is survived by wife Mildred and sister Marianne.