Vale Peter Leonard

Peter was the most down-to-earth gentleman I had ever met in the industry. He’s going to be missed, and my thoughts go out to his family and friends.

There is no problem with publicising the cause of death unless it, say, implies something about the dead person’s private life they wouldn’t like the world to know. Putting the cause of death is entirely standard in obituaries. In Peter’s case, it’s actually quite interesting. Could there have been an industrial link?

Quote: Wide Boy: I’m with sepi on this one – the public has no particular “right to know” about the personal life of someone in Peter’s position who’s retired from public life and wants privacy. If they want to keep details private, where’s the disgrace in honouring that wish? What is so special about your desire to know about the health of a former newsreader that should override his and his family’s desire for you to keep your nose out? Unquote.

I had no particular desire to find out this news, in fact I didn’t want to know about it, but the rumours were circulating and found their way onto this site, so the local media should have followed it up. I didn’t believe it at the time and I boycotted RiotAct for three months in protest, and when nothing more was heard I falsely assumed that the rumours (and the story on this site) were false.

We’re getting into Derryn Hinch “right to know, need to know” territory here, and I don’t believe it helps anybody to embark on such a debate at this difficult time.

Sad news indeed. Poor Alex Sloan was literally in tears on the radio this morning when talking about it. Peter always struck me as just a decent bloke without a hint of the pretentiousness or self-righteousness that seems to be a job requirement for most commercial news readers. Rest in peace.

Wide Boy: I’m with sepi on this one – the public has no particular “right to know” about the personal life of someone in Peter’s position who’s retired from public life and wants privacy. If they want to keep details private, where’s the disgrace in honouring that wish? What is so special about your desire to know about the health of a former newsreader that should override his and his family’s desire for you to keep your nose out?

Vale Peter Leonard – a gentleman and a wonderful colleague.

Sad day for the Canberra media community and the Canberra community in general.

My condolences to his family and friends.

I was one of those who didn’t believe it at the time (and thought it was in poor taste to announce unconfirmed (and unconfirmable) gossip about public figures.
But in defense, all I had to go on was an “I heard a story in a cafe” posting on a local website from someone I’d never heard of before.

Were I Mrs Leonard or one of the junior Leonards I’d be finding out who told what was a confidential medical fact to a bunch of people, which eventually spread into cafe gossip, though.

Sad news.

On the previous story – just because it was true doesn’t mean it was necessary.
If it were my family I would prefer to keep such news private, and tell people as I wished.

I found it disgraceful that the local media all closed ranks and refused to confirm or deny the rumours of his terminal condition when someone posted the news onto this site last February. Only now – after his death – has the mainstream media bothered to give any information. The RiotAct was made out to be a scurrilous and disreputable site printing scuttlebutt when – as it now transpires – it was all true.

Wow – unexpected. Sad day for sure.

Skidbladnir said :

Credit where credit is due, we owe V8 Berliner with a three tier spoiler some kind of story link for the bit in February, which seems to be only a few weeks after his original diagnosis.

But this is still a sad day, and the man was a credit to his industry.

Missed that one when it was being run — deep in festival time in mid-Feb. Thanks for the track-back, Skid. I definitely would have remembered that if I’d seen it.

Why the f*ck can’t we use the word “die” any more?

Why the asinine euphemisms?

Credit where credit is due, we owe V8 Berliner with a three tier spoiler some kind of story link for the bit in February, which seems to be only a few weeks after his original diagnosis.

But this is still a sad day, and the man was a credit to his industry.

Damn.

Peter was a really great guy – bumped into him years ago in a lift – he was very down to earth and spent some time chatting as we waited for a delivery guy to get a large box out of the lift.

It is such a shame that he has passed away. I hope he wasn’t in pain.

My condolences to his family.

That is so incredibly sad. I remember seeing a bunch of the WIN crowd out at a Xmas party at Antigo’s only a few years ago and he seemed so vital, even though his Kris Kringle present was a zimmer frame!

I used to work in training and development, and Peter came in and did some media awareness training for the execs in my organisation. Tall as all get out, and an absolute gentle giant.

A very good man and Canberran.

I worked with Peter for four years at WIN, and he was a genuinely nice bloke. Very sad news to hear.

Cheers Pete, you were an old-style gentleman, and will be missed.