TRIBUTES have been paid to a well-known broadcast journalist who has died.
Colin Duncan, who was 57 years old, was a long-time news editor with Downtown Radio, steering the station's coverage during some of the darkest days of the Troubles.
During that time he mentored many journalists who have been paying tribute to him following the shock news of his death earlier this week.
Mr Duncan, who was originally from Newtownabbey, Co Antrim and more recently lived in north Down, began his career working on the Ballymena Observer before moving into radio.
More recently he had been working as a freelance journalist.
Sky Ireland correspondent David Blevins described Mr Duncan as "feisty", but "an absolutely brilliant journalist from whom I learned so much at (Downtown).
Former BBC news reader Martin Donnan said he had been "shocked" to hear of the death.
"So many great memories of such a caustic wit," he wrote on Twitter.
Former BBC correspondent and editor Gary Duffy said: "Colin Duncan made everyone he worked with into better journalists - very sorry to hear of his passing".
Former UTV reporter Ivan Little said there was "never a dull moment and never a dull news story from the one-off that was Colin Duncan who was a veritable whirlwind in DTR".
Q Radio presenter Robert Skates described him as "one of Northern Ireland's finest journalists and I learned so much from him".
Former UTV journalist Alison Fleming described Mr Duncan as an incredible journalist who taught me and many others so much in the Downtown newsroom".
UTV political editor Ken Reid described him as "a fine journalist and decent human being".
BBC Sport editor Shane Glynn said he was "one of the sharpest journalists I ever worked with and from whom I learned so much".
Veteran broadcast journalist Eamonn Mallie posted a picture of Mr Duncan, calling him a "brilliant journalist colleague".
"Newsdesk sang when he was on duty," he added.
His funeral is expected to take place at 2.30pm on Wednesday, March 16 at Melville’s Funeral Parlour, York Road, Belfast.
