It’s a sad day at NY1: A man who trained hundreds of journalists to tell the stories of New York City died unexpectedly.

Peter Landis suffered a stroke on Wednesday while undergoing what was expected to be minor surgery.

Peter led the NY1 team as managing editor and news director for the better part of NY1’s first two decades. Sometimes he did that in business attire, but often it was done in one of the many Hawaiian shirts he owned. He helped NY1’s journalists to learn their craft and stay honest as they reported their stories.  

His love of Broadway is one of the reasons NY1 works so hard to cover theater. He was a Tony voter and was always eager to have a debate about whether a new production lived up to expectations.  

Late in his career, he expanded his teaching beyond the NY1 staff to students at Columbia, where he taught as an adjunct associate professor at the school of journalism.  

Peter’s philosophy of reporting was simple. The facts always came first. So we’ll pay tribute in his own words. In a November 2000 memo, he wrote to the staff:

“If we come across information that seems to contradict our own experience or common sense, question whether that information is accurate. And don’t put it on TV until the questions are answered.” 

That’s advice we continue to follow seven years after Peter’s retirement.  

Our retired colleague Peter Landis was 72 years old.