Ken Reich, Long Time LA Times Writer, Reporter Dies at 70

Ken Reich, who had worked as a reporter and writer at the Los Angeles Times for thirty nine years, passed away in his sleep early this morning, the Times reports.

Reich, perhaps best remembered for his aggressive political coverage, including coverage of Los Angeles City Hall, as well as his coverage surrounding the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, retired from the Times in 2004. He was a unique character, in the sense that newsmen of his era often were. He has maintained a blog, Take Back the Times, which was highly critical of the new management of the Times. His last blog entry on his own blog was posted shortly after midnight this morning; he posted on the blog Tell Zell at 2:16 a.m.

According to LA Observed, the following notice was sent to other retired LAT staffers who were members of a group which called itself the "Old Farts Society":

Dear OFS Members:

Sad news. Anton Calleia, a close friend of Ken Reich and a fellow OFS member, sent me an e-mail this morning saying that Ken died in his sleep last night. Ken was a retired staff writer for the Los Angeles Times. In his three-plus decades with the newspaper, Ken covered City Hall, wrote a column and was a lead reporter on the 1984 L.A. Olympics coverage.

Those of you who attended last Wednesday's OFS luncheon noticed that Ken arrived and left in a wheelchair, the result of a defibrillator episode he experienced on the last two days of his recent weeks-long cruise around Africa.

The Los Angeles Times obituary desk has been notified of Ken's passing. Funeral details will be sent to OFS members when they become available.

Reich's bio, as he listed at his blog, is available here. The Times is working on a full obit, which I'll link to when available. In the meantime, if you're interested in learning more about Ken Reich, you could do worse than to follow the LA Observed site.

Addendum:

As promised, here's the link to the L.A. Times obit. The "Daily Mirror" blog at the L.A. Times has provided a link to the July 3 memorial service for Ken Reich, as well as to a 2006 meeting of the Old Farts society at which Reich spoke. "The speakers are moderator Jerry Clark, Ken Reich, former Times National Editor Ed Guthman and Only in L.A. columnist Steve Harvey, discussing former President Nixon's "Enemies List" and former Times political reporter Richard Bergholz, who had recently died." (I had the privilege of driving (and speaking with and listening to) Dick Bergholz, who was acting as the pool reporter during a visit to L.A. by Democratic Presidential candidate Ed Muskie, circa 1971 - 72.)