Peter Ryan (1960 – 18 July 2025) was an Australian journalist who worked predominantly for the

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

network.

Career

Early in his career, Ryan worked as a

copy boy A copy boy is a typically young and junior worker on a newspaper. The job involves taking typed stories from one section of a newspaper to another. According to Bruce Guthrie, the former editor-in-chief of the ''Herald Sun'' who began work there ...

for the Sydney-based newspaper ''

The Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead ...

''. He worked on the ABC Radio programs '' AM'', '' PM'' and '' The World Today''. He also worked on media for ABC's radio channels

NewsRadio ''NewsRadio'' is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from March 21, 1995, to May 4, 1999, focusing on the work lives of the staff of a New York City AM news radio station. It had an ensemble cast featuring Dave Foley, Stephen R ...

Radio National ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. ...

, various

ABC Local Radio ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...

stations, and produced television content for the ABC News channel. He was a member of the

Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) is the Australian trade union and professional organisation which covers the media, entertainment, sports and arts industries. Its Musicians section consists of the SOMA (Symphony Orchestra Musi ...

's Benevolent Fund, which supports journalists through difficulties. Ryan worked for the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

as its senior business correspondent and editor from 2016 to 2025. He was formerly employed as the ABC's

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

bureau chief and head of TV news and current affairs in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, executive producer of ''Business Breakfast'', founding editor of '' Lateline Business'' and the ABC's business editor.

Personal life and death

Born in 1960, Ryan was educated at

Marist College Eastwood Marist College Eastwood is an independent Roman Catholic single-sex secondary day school for boys, located in Eastwood, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. History As a Marist school, Marist College Eastwood traces its inception to Marcelli ...

, a Catholic secondary all-boys school. He was married to Mary Cotter and had a daughter. Ryan was diagnosed with metastatic

thyroid cancer Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck, ...

in 2014. He died in Sydney from the illness on 18 July 2025, at the age of 64, just weeks after retiring in late June due to ill health.

Awards and honours

Ryan won a

Walkley Award The annual Walkley Awards are presented in Australia to recognise and reward excellence in journalism. They cover all media including print, television, documentary, radio, photographic and online media. The Gold Walkley is the highest prize and ...

in 2017 for a story on money laundering taking place through

Commonwealth Bank The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), also known as Commonwealth Bank or simply CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of fi ...

deposit machines. In 2022, he was awarded the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

medal, for his 'service to the broadcast media as a journalist'.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Peter 1960 births 2025 deaths Australian business and financial journalists Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia People educated at Marist College Eastwood Australian Broadcasting Corporation people