R.I.P.: Keith Martin, Former WBRE-TV News Anchor NEPA

Keith Martin

Nextar's WBRE-WYOU TV have announced that longtime station news anchor Keith Martin died on Sunday at the age of 75. Martin had been dealing with health issues in the months before his death. reports The Times-Leader in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Martin became a mainstay in households throughout the area as an anchor for WBRE-TV’s news team, starting at the station in the late 1970s before returning for a second stint in 1990.

A veteran of the Vietnam War as well, Martin ascended to the rank of Brigadier General in the Army National Guard during his time in the service.

Martin also spent a portion of his career in the Rendell administration, serving as Pennsylvania’s first Homeland Security Director.

“He [Martin] was a man you looked up to, a man of the people,” said WBRE anchor Mark Hiller, who worked with Martin during his second stint with the station. “It was a real jolt to hear the news … it is a monumental loss.”

Hiller called Martin the “newsman’s newsman,” and spoke to Martin’s professionalism on camera and his willingness to help his fellow reporters and co-workers off camera.

“Keith made everyone around him better,” Hiller said. “He made everyone feel like a part of his circle … everyone just adored him.”

Both Hiller and Eyewitness News I-Team lead investigator Andy Mehalshick, each a longtime veteran of the network themselves, referred to Martin as a mentor and as someone instrumental to their successes.

“Keith was a true journalist, he set a high standard in the Eyewitness Newsroom,” Mehalshick said. “He was my mentor, he was leader of the newsroom … I learned much from him.”

Mehalshick referred to a quote from Martin that summed up his mindset behind the Eyewitness News desk: “We have to be right … being first is great but it’s more important to be accurate and fair.”

WBRE/WYOU executive producer of special products Jayne Ann Bugda served as producer on Martin’s newscasts while he was at the station.

“We’re all heartbroken to hear this news,” she said. “I’m very blessed to have gotten the chance to work with Keith.”

Bugda recalled Martin’s “wonderful sense of humor” and, much in the same vein as her colleagues, considered Martin to be a mentor to her in her own career.

Each of Martin’s former colleagues were effusive in their praise for the newsman, with Hiller referring to him as one of the iconic figures of Eyewitness News.

“If we had an Eyewitness News Mount Rushmore, Keith would be front and center,” Hiller said. “He was the gold standard.”