More than 200 journalists, politicians and community leaders attended a lunch Saturday to mark World Press Freedom Day. They also spent some time remembering former CBC executive Spencer Moore, who, according to the Ottawa Citizen, “transformed the annual lunch from a small event into an occasion of consequence.”

After organizers learned he had died, they briefly considered cancelling the event out of respect, but decided that Mr. Moore would have wanted the event to go on.

A brief bio from the Citizen story:

After attending the University of Saskatchewan, he went to work at CKBI, a private radio station in Saskatoon, before joining CBC Radio in Ottawa as a broadcaster and producer.

In 1958, he was sent to London to oversee the CBC bureau, returning to Canada in 1966 to organize the network’s Expo 67 coverage. From 1968 until his retirement in 1985, he worked at CBC headquarters in Ottawa, for part of that time acquiring the rights to Olympics coverage.

For the next 10 years he represented the CBC on the North American Broadcasters Association, where he developed his passion for press freedom, according to his son, Maj. John Moore.

Moore had been fighting cancer for several years.

Some memories left on an online memorial:

I have many fond memories of my collaboration with Spenser at CBC. He was a very dedicated CBC officer and a wonderful friend. We traveled together often and shared a lot of important events in the life of the Corporation. I know he will be sorely missed. Helen and I extend our sincere sympathy to Julie and the whole family. — Gerry Flaherty

The world of International Affairs and Broadcasting has lost a major pillar with this sad passing. While I followed Spencer by a few years, his name was always held high amongst our international colleagues. Spencer set the mark for professionalism, integrity and dedication at a high level, and challenged all those so inclined to match it, or better it, which few did. Toni and I have fond memories of the trips where we encountered Spencer at some function, and we both extend our condolences to Julie and the rest of the family. — Bob O’Reilly

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