Herald Sun journalists pay tribute to Sam Landsberger on Fox Footy’s Midweek Tackle

Herald Sun journalists Jay Clark, Glenn McFarlane and Jon Ralph have paid tribute to former colleague Sam Landsberger after his death on Tuesday, praising his courage and conviction as a journalist.

Herald Sun journalist Sam Landsberger with his award Picture: Supplied

Herald Sun sports reporter Jay Clark has paid tribute to his friend and colleague Sam Landsberger.

Landsberger was killed after being struck by a truck in Richmond on Tuesday.

“It is with incredibly heavy hearts we go to air tonight after losing our great mate, Sammy Landsberger, in a tragic accident in Richmond on Tuesday,” Clark said on Fox Footy’s show the ‘Midweek Tackle’.

Landsberger died on Tuesday.

“He was scheduled to be sitting at the desk with us tonight because he is one of the best footy reporters in the country.

“We loved Sammy. We loved his energy, his enthusiasm, his fearlessness, his nose for a great footy yarn, but above all, we loved his company.

“We will miss you, mate.

“Our thoughts are with the Landsberger family. Our hearts are breaking for his parents, Jake and Anne. Deepest condolences from everyone at the Herald Sun and Fox Footy.

“We were lucky to call Sam a friend, and he will forever shine bright in our memory.

“Rest in Peace, Sam.”

Herald Sun colleague Glenn McFarlane also paid tribute to Landsberger on the show.

“An old mentor once said to me there were three key ingredients to being a successful journalist: courage, compassion and connection,” he said.

“If you have one of them, you can make a living. If you have two of them, you can make a career; and if you have three of them, wow that puts you into that rarefied air.

“We all know that Sammy had the trifecta and that’s why he was respected and loved in equal doses.

“He could write the razor-sharp news story that would shake the industry, but he would always approach it with compassion and care.

“His compassion came out in his longer reads … where he wouldn’t waste a word and you would desperately want more at the end of it.

“And the connection part stands out the most.

“He cared deeply about his family, and our hearts go out to them.

“He cared about his working family. And he cared about the game and the industry.

“Sammy, we’ll miss you mate.”

Landsberger was an award-winning journalist who lit up the newsroom. Picture: Julie Tullberg

Herald Sun colleague Jon Ralph echoed their sentiments.

“You can skate through this industry on access and never write the hard stories, never rock the boat, but he just wasn’t like that,” Ralph said.

“You can see from the last 24 hours and your tributes how much we loved him but we respected him and in journalism it’s about respect.

“He was respected because he chased down those stories, he’d roll in and he’d have a live one, he’d disappear into an office and start making phone calls and you’d think ‘he’s got one here’ and he would just not let it go until he actually got it on the front page or the back page.

“All those people that were so furious, a lot of them texted me today talking about how much they respected him.”

Western Bulldogs, where Landsberger’s father Dr Jake Landsberger was a longtime member of staff, will pay tribute during the club’s game against GWS, with details still to be confirmed.