Remembering Peter Mackler: Allan Kelly: A friendship cut short

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Allan Kelly: A friendship cut short

We worked together, Peter and I, on three continents over nigh on 30 years - Asia, Europe and North America --- Had we the time spread out before us I would quite happily add Africa and South America. Sadly we can't.

It was Peter who drew me (and Marie-Therese and four-year-old Christopher) out of a Paris torpor on a night flight to Asia in August, 1984 where like everyone else I was galvanised by his journalistic instincts and "what if " attiitude. Never had exerienced that before. Never looked back. Our daughter Charlotte was born there.

Professional-life apart we became good friends and our wives and families became close. We were neighbours in Hong Kong, where we used their apartment-block swimming pool and tennis courts after Catherine managed to get us passes. In Le Chesnay (Versailles) we lived 100 metres away from each other - other side of the road - and looked after each other's apartments when absent. In Washington we were both in Bethesda. We celebrated together Christmas, New Year, Thanksgiving, Bastille Day and even a Scottish Burns Night.

Peter the journalist was an exceptional case. We all know that . But my abiding memory will always be Peter the family guy with Catherine whom he adored and his two bright and loving daughters Camille and Lauren. Suddenly the Nabib of the Newsroom was the Lamb of the Livingroom as he would sit back, glass of wine in hand, nod his head contentedly and happily do what he was told - unknown for PM in the newsroom. Great compassion also for others - no exceptions. Help not hindrance his motto and he stuck to it faithfully.

Last point - Peter was also an exceptional sportsman - had he chosen I am sure he could have made the grade somewhere - great physique, talented ball skills and as hard as nails mentally. We played at golf - he beat me. We played at tennis - he beat me. I would never have taken him on in a boxing match. But then again knowing Peter he would have likely worked out a way of making me think I had won.

Huge loss, hard to take for us all, but he will always be with us in spirit - thats for sure.
Just hoping that Catherine, Camille and Lauren in time can come to terms with Peter's untimely death as best they can. We hope to see them all in France or the USA whenever they are ready.

--Allan Kelly
AFP Paris

A NOTE FROM CATHERINE

Dear friends,

Camille, Lauren and I have been overwhelmed by messages of sympathy and testimonies from people all over the world on how Peter has touched their lives.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you. We know now that Peter succeeded at what mattered most to him, that was to touch people's lives, make a difference and help them achieve their very best as men and women.

My husband was an extraordinary man in public, as you know, but even more so in private. We shared 31 years that have been rich with love, challenges, and adventures beyond belief. We grew together into what he called "better people." Although he always thought we were never quite there yet, I know that he certainly was.

I have to continue by myself the path that he has laid out so clearly for us. Camille and Lauren, who carry so much of him inside them and take his purpose even further, will be my strength.

Thank you very much for all your support and friendship. I am deeply appreciative of all of you.

Catherine Antoine
catherine@catherineantoine.com

Peter Mackler, a pillar of AFP, dies at 58

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Peter Mackler, a veteran of Agence France-Presse who covered wars, elections and was the driving force behind transforming the agency's English language service into a global powerhouse, has died at 58.

Mackler died Friday after suffering a heart ailment at work in Washington, where he had served as AFP's chief editor for North America since 2006. His sudden death sent shockwaves throughout the agency's bureaus the world over.

"One of the agency's best journalists has died," said AFP chief executive Pierre Louette. "He was for most of us a source of inspiration, a model."

"I know he had a total passion for the agency, a desire for it to be great and remain in the top rank," Louette said. "We will miss him terribly."

Mackler, an American who spoke French fluently, joined AFP in the United States in September 1979 after starting his journalism career at a rival agency, UPI, in New York.

Over his nearly 30-year career at AFP, the indefatigable journalist played a key role in developing the multilingual agency's anglophone service from Paris to the Middle East and Hong Kong.

He was also a passionate and energetic journalist who relished the big stories.

As a reporter or editor, he wrote and oversaw stories that have defined recent history: from the Gulf War in 1991 to the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and George W. Bush's presidency.

In the past year, he steered the Washington bureau's coverage of the marathon presidential nomination race with his usual vigor and focus in the face of intense competition from rival news agencies.

But between his long hours at the office, Mackler had also dedicated his time and energy to lending his vast experience to journalists working in developing countries.

In 2004, Peter Mackler set up Global Media Forum, an international media training programme, that grew out of work he had done for underprivileged children at Duke Ellington High School in Washington.

For the last year, he had worked with the AFP Foundation, a non-profit, and had been preparing a training project for journalists in Lebanon that had been requested by the United Nations.

"Peter Mackler was a man of many parts but to his colleagues he will be chiefly remembered for three outstanding qualities: his uncompromising commitment to the highest professional standards; his deep loyalty to his friends and colleagues; and his dedication to teaching young journalists," said AFP deputy managing editor Robert Holloway.

Born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn on August 22, 1949, Mackler graduated with a degree in psychology and began working as a psychologist for children in his neighborhood before joining UPI in 1973.

After starting at AFP in the United States in 1979, Mackler moved to the agency's editing desk in Hong Kong in 1982 and went on to become the bureau chief in Sydney and Singapore.

His work in Asia helped turn AFP's English dispatches into an essential source of news for newspapers and broadcast media across the region.

In 1991, he was dubbed "General Mackler" for his sure-handed organizational skills during the Gulf War as he helped AFP correspondents arrive in Kuwait City hours before the US Army.

After working in Brussels, he had his first stint as chief editor in Washington in 1994 before becoming the bureau's deputy regional director.

He was then named senior reporter based at AFP's headquarters in Paris to cover terrorism, a job that took him back to New York to cover the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and to Pakistan for the war that followed in Afghanistan.

He returned to Washington in 2004 to cover the State Department before being named chief editor for North America two years later.

He is survived by his wife of 31 years, Catherine, and his two daughters, Camille and Lauren.