A giant in media and in life is how the journalism fraternity, the country’s leaders, and noted public figures described the late Ian Boyne following the shocking news of his passing yesterday.

The 60-year-old veteran journalist, a media celebrity and self-made success, died yesterday morning at the University Hospital of the West Indies.

He had been hospitalised on December 3 after suffering a heart attack, but was released a few days later and was said to be recovering well.

Even those who had never spoken with nor seen Boyne in person have been deeply shaken by his passing, because, as one of Jamaica’s most accomplished and respected journalists, he had, through his television programmes and writings, touched the lives of numerous Jamaicans for more than four decades.

Known for his 30-year-running television personality series Profile, his prolific columns in the Sunday Gleaner, as well as his debate-stimulating Religious Hardtalk TV programme, Boyne’s work spanned the full gamut of journalism and found its way into the homes, minds, and hearts of Jamaicans here and in the diaspora.

Veteran broadcaster Fae Ellington was among those who worked closest with Boyne since the dawn of his illustrious career in the 1970s. She remembered him as a hard worker, who was uncompromising in the quality of his work and adherence to professionalism.

“Ian and I go way back to the mid-70s… we have a healthy respect for each other. He often teased me, as he did in his WhatsApp messages last week, that I could have been Mrs Ian Boyne, but because I was a celebrity I had too many people to choose from,” Ellington told the Jamaica Observer with a laugh.

She said that she preferred to celebrate his life, even amidst mourning.

“He was a hard-working professional, prolific journalist, not to mention his work as deputy CEO at the JIS ( Jamaica Information Service) where he did a number of programmes for television and radio. I am celebrating this relatively young man who has accomplished so much and has legacy. People like Ian don’t set out to leave a legacy, [they] set out to do excellent work and it becomes a legacy. Ian was great on research, he was a voracious reader and he had a lot of depth in his columns,” Ellington said, noting that even at home Boyne meticulously reserved time for his work.

She extended sympathies to his widow Margaret and family, who she noted had been very supportive of him in his personal life and career.

One of the other feats that Boyne was able to achieve throughout his career was to deftly straddle political administrations, earning the trust and respect of both, as the consummate professional. “That says a lot. He was a professional first and foremost, whatever his political affiliation,” Ellington remarked.

When he launched Profile of Excellence at King’s House in 2012, leaders from all spheres of public life, including past and present prime ministers, were there to endorse his achievement. When his series Profile — one of the longest-running seasonal television shows internationally — marked its 30th anniversary earlier this year, Boyne also received accolades from Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

Yesterday, Holness expressed a deep sense of loss, shock, and regret at Boyne’s passing, noting that he served as deputy head of the State communication agency, and as chief state liaison for the current Administration, as well as those led by former prime ministers Bruce Golding and Simpson Miller.

“Ian’s contribution to media is admirable and represents the power of good journalism. He has distinguished himself as a fair, fearless, and balanced commentator. Ian was simply the consummate communicator. He has helped to guide and craft national speeches for the offices of the governor general, the prime minister, and leader of the opposition across political administrations. His guiding hand, maturity and calm demeanour will be greatly missed,” Holness stated.

Former Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller said she was in shock. “The fact that he was always close to me and worked with us, it’s hard to accept that he is not here. He’s always somebody if he is asked to do something you know it’s going to be done, and it’s going to be good, and you’re going to get it earlier than the time. He knew what he was doing and he had good eyes for details.

“For a long time I have not felt anything like this. He was such a nice person… I have never heard him speak to anyone in a way that that could offend them. This leaves me with such a feeling of sadness. I am still asking myself how; but the Master knows best. It’s sad when the family and people you work with closely, when they are gone, it’s not easy,” she told the Observer.

Information Minister Senator Ruel Reid also lauded Boyne’s service to the Government and people of Jamaica, noting that he yearned for improvement in the country’s social capital and the transformation of the lives of Jamaicans. “Truly, he was an inspiration. His passing is a great loss to me personally, a great loss to our ministry, a great loss to the Government and the entire Jamaica,” Reid said.

Opposition Leader Dr Peter Phillips also heaped praise on the late journalist for being able to, in a socially polarised and publicly divisive environment, maintain good relations with all segments of the society, regardless of political or social status.

“In so doing, he was able to epitomise what it meant to be a true Jamaican. Ian Boyne was not afraid to ask searching questions, without being disrespectful. He was able to capture the passions of the Jamaican people without allowing those passions to expose them to ridicule. His contribution to Jamaica and the development of the nation will not be erased and we applaud him for his outstanding work,” Phillips said in a release.

There was also an outpouring of sadness from The Gleaner at which Boyne was an invaluable member of the team of writers for 34 years. “In that time he distinguished himself as a giant of opinion journalism and man of remarkable intellect and insight. Ian could manoeuvre seamlessly among diverse topics and was always armed with facts to bolster his points. Despite his stature, Ian was always the consummate gentleman — thoughtful in his words with others and genuinely empathetic. We, like his readers, will miss him greatly. While we grieve, we keep his family and friends in our thoughts and prayers,” Editor-in-Chief Garfield Grandison stated.

Veteran journalist and founding editor of the Observer, Desmond Allen, said Boyne will, for a long time to come, occupy a special place in the hearts of journalists who are still in love with the craft.

“His passion and skill that allowed him to work and excel across three testy media platforms — newspaper, radio, and television — will serve as an example in perpetuity of the complete journalist.”

Allen recalled his first encounters with Boyne in the late 1970s and the mutual respect enjoyed throughout the years in journalism. “Our conversations were invariably about the state of our profession and while we were not its most perfect representatives, we agonised a lot bout the shortcomings. Ian was the journalist-scholar, given to reading and research, which made him ready at the drop of a hat to debate and dispute on virtually any subject, not unlike the late John Maxwell who was his hero. I found Ian to be very personable, affable, and one who believed in ‘bigging up’ his colleagues when he thought it was deserved,” Allen said.

He noted the private person that Boyne was, despite his public persona: “I regret that he did not allow me to interview him about his life when I wrote a long series of in-depth stories about great Jamaicans which I titled ‘The Desmond Allen Interviews’. So it is to his body of work that we will have to look to assess the measure of the man. And that is not a bad thing. I’ll miss Ian immensely,” Allen said.

Senior reporter at Nationwide News Network Abka Fitz-Henley remembered Boyne as a giant, mentor and family friend.

“I cannot improve upon the richly deserved encomiums which no doubt will come his way from the sage men of society, but I will say this, not only was he a distinguished scholar with an almost unquenchable appetite for knowledge, above all he was a decent human being, a good man who was always supportive of his colleagues and friends. I am forever grateful for his genuine support and words of encouragement over the years. Rest in peace, Ian. Our generation is unlikely to be visited by your equal,” Fitz-Henley said.

The Broadcasting Commission, in a release, said Boyne displayed the highest standards of integrity in journalism and will long be remembered as one of the foremost exponents of fearless, non-partisan inquiry, focused only on determining the truth of the matter.

“He has left an enduring legacy in journalism and broadcasting which will serve as a guide, foundation and benchmark for integrity, quality and substance,” the media watchdog agency said.

Donna-Marie Rowe, the CEO at JIS, at which Boyne was deputy CEO since 2010, after rejoining the agency in 2002, said “Everyone knew Ian as the veteran journalist, but we knew him as that and so much more. He was a superb colleague. I have lost not only my indescribable deputy, but a true friend.”

She said his passing has left a huge void and expressed love and sympathy to his wife, daughter, relatives, and friends.

Boyne was host of the JIS’s flagship interview programme Issues and Answers — the Government’s platform to respond to national issues and concerns. He first joined the JIS — the then A gency for Public Information — in 1976 as feature writer and television broadcaster.

In 1983 he became press secretary/speech writer to the then minister of industry and commerce Douglas Vaz, continuing in that post until 2002 under successive administrations.

In 2009, the Government of Jamaica rewarded his outstanding contribution to journalism with the Commander of the Order of Distinction (CD).

Boyne, known not just for his accomplishments, but also his easy manner of interacting with people and his hearty laughter, also received several journalism awards for distinguished work in print and television broadcasting, including the Jamaica Broilers Fairplay Award for Profile in 2005, and the Morris Cargill Award for Opinion Journalism in 2006.