Ian Cook, executive with Sky News Australia, has died at the age of 68. He had been battling illness for some years.
Sky News CEO Angelos Frangopoulos paid tribute to the man they called ‘Cookie’ as a great man of Australian television news and mentor to many young journalists:
“Ian was a great mentor to the many journalists at Sky News and had been a driving force in the establishment of Sky News Australia.
“Ian has left a lasting legacy in Australian journalism, guiding hundreds of young people through their careers, offering advice and support. He had a fearsome reputation for ensuring attention to detail which was driven by his passion for the craft.
“He was very much loved by all at Sky News. For me, he was both a mentor and friend. I will him miss greatly.”
Sky News Political Editor David Speers added, “‘Cookie was a great newsroom leader, never an easy job. He was also the best mentor of young journalists I’ve seen. He was always willing to tell me when I was on the right track or the wrong track.”
Over a long career Cook had also worked in senior roles at the Seven, Nine and Ten networks as well as Sky News in London and New Zealand. Seven CEO Tim Worner has issued a statement:
“He was spirited and talented, and he made an extraordinary contribution to journalism in Australia. He has mentored and led the development and careers of many of today’s journalists.
He played a key role at Seven News in his time at our company. And he was a powerhouse at Sky News. He was still doing great work for Sky News as recently as a few weeks ago. He and his family were and are so proud of that.
Like the fighter everyone who worked with and for him knew him to be, he fought the unbeatable right to the end.”
I knew Ian Cook(Cookie) when he joined 2 platoon A Company as a reinforcement.Cookie and I were both riflemen in the Platoon.Cookie was an extremely articulate fellow who on numerous occasions was asked to write apologies to our Company Commander to get us out of trouble(always something minor)Although Cookie had begun is career in journalism before being conscripted at least he was able to keep his hand in by writing the long winded explanations which always got us out of trouble.
Like most conscripts who served in Vietnam I lost touch with Cookie when he arrived back in Australia and unfortunately never saw him again.We did arrive home at different times,myself on a chartered QANTAS flight and Cookie by sea on the converted aircraft carrier Sydney.I always knew that Cookie would be successful in whatever he did after 2 years of National Service,he was a great mate who helped to keep up some laughter and happiness during a period in our lives when things did not always turn out as we may have hoped.
This is so moving to read. I was looking up Ian Frykberg, who I did know had died in 2014. And there it was, Cookie’s obit. Shuffling off just a few months after Fryk. I adored them both and owed a great deal to them in my days at Sky News. I liked them both. They were old school and their days were numbered. But they both saved Sky News in their own way at the time.
When Cookie arrived at Sky he was quickly dubbed ‘the smiling assassin’ He liked that but it belied what a great man he was. He did what he had to do. And he did smile as he did it. But only on the outside. He did a lot to sort out the shambles that Sky news had become. Fryk was blamed for that but of course it was the utter incompetence of Kelvin McKbollocks who knew nothing about TV news back then. Ian sorted things out and I will always have great memories of him.