The veteran Australian journalist Bernie Keenan first fell in love with the notion of news and news gathering as a youngster watching the Saturday morning movie newsreels.
By age 16 his passion for news and his interest in photography led him to apply for his first job at Channel Nine in Brisbane. After a stint as a film editor, he was sent on the road as a news cameraman, embarking on a distinguished career that would see him cover many of the most significant stories of the era. Most recently, he was chief of staff in the ABC's Sydney newsroom.
Bernard Patrick Keenan was born on March 17, 1945, in Sunnybank, Queensland, one of four children of James Keenan and his wife Mary (nee O'Connor) and, by his own accounts, something of a handful.
He travelled to Poland and Rome to cover the election of Pope John Paul II, covered consecutive Americas Cups and even shot a documentary on the then up-and-coming young band ABBA in Sweden
He delighted in telling stories about his undistinguished record as a scholar who couldn't wait to leave school and begin work.
In 1975 he was dispatched to what was then called Portuguese Timor to cover the fighting but visa complications delayed the crew's departure from Darwin. The next morning, they were beaten to the flashpoint by their network colleagues from Melbourne, who would become part of the ill-fated Balibo Five.
In recent years he devoted a lot of his time to volunteering with the Little Sisters of the Poor aged care facility in Randwick and at Redfern's Teresa House shelter.
Keenan died after a heart attack as he was preparing for a run with his training partners in Coogee. The day before he had attended a memorial service for his long-time friend the ABC pilot Gary Ticehurst, who died in a helicopter crash on August 18.
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