Respected former television journalist Chris Rose died Wednesday after suffering a cardiac event, according to the Portland TV station where he worked for more than three decades.
News Center Maine announced Rose’s death in a Thursday afternoon post on its website.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share news of the loss of respected Maine journalist Chris Rose, who died Wednesday following a cardiac event,” the announcement said.
Chris Rose NEWS CENTER Maine photo
His colleagues at the TV station described Rose as a reliable, unflappable journalist who would make deadlines, present accurate, compelling stories, and never waste words.
Rose, 63, was inducted into the Maine Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2017.
During his journalism career, Rose covered several high profile stories affecting Maine and the region, including the 2015 sinking of the cargo ship El Faro and the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. He also covered feature stories, such as one about actor Robin Williams shooting a movie in Maine.
Sarah Delage worked with Rose for five years when she was a reporter for News Center Maine, and is now the director of public relations and communications at the University of New England. After Rose left News Center Maine in 2018, he joined UNE as a public relations strategist.
“With his decades of experience with storytelling, his knowledge of the Maine media landscape, and his overall calm and steady demeanor, he was just a dream to work with. Our entire communications and marketing team loved and respected him,” Delage said. “Chris was the consummate professional. He had a steady, even-tempered quality that served him in public relations just as it did in news. He had a gift for putting people at ease so that they could share their stories, and he was always calm under pressure.”
Ellen Beaulieu, UNE’s vice president for strategy and communications, called Rose’s death “heartbreaking.”
“Chris came to us in April 2018 after more than three decades of working in the news media,” she said in a message Thursday to the UNE community. “He was a beloved reporter for News Center Maine in Portland for more than 32 years and was a familiar face, and a trusted presence on television across the state.
“He brought his veteran reporting skills with him to UNE, always looking for the next scoop on campus, always interviewing our faculty, students and professional staff with a keen eye toward what was newsworthy and interesting to the public,” Beaulieu added. “Chris also brought with him an impeccable level of professionalism, a fierce loyalty to the University’s best interests, and a calm and kind demeanor. He will be greatly missed by his colleagues.”
Rose began his TV news career in Worcester, Massachusetts, and was a writer and producer at WBZ-TV in Boston. Rose joined WCSH in 1986 as a newscast producer.
Shannon Moss, spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety, worked with Rose for about seven years when she was a reporter for News Center Maine. Moss said she was shocked to learn he had died.
“He was such a wonderful guy and an absolute pleasure to work with. Chris was an old school journalist, talented, well respected, humble. He was a class act,” Moss said Thursday evening. “Chris was more on the quiet side but he had a great sense of humor, a wonderful smile and he absolutely loved being a dad to his two girls. And while a lot of us have moved on from News Center Maine we still consider ourselves a family and this loss hurts, a lot.”
Former News Center Maine anchor Pat Callaghan, who retired recently, wrote a tribute to Rose when he announced he was leaving TV news in 2018.
“No one has been more reliable,” Callaghan wrote four years ago. “You always knew he would make deadline; the story would be factual, compelling, and complete; and he would never waste words. For years I have maintained that if we gave an MVP award to a NEWS CENTER reporter, Chris Rose would be in the running every year.”
Callaghan, in an interview Thursday night, said Rose had a knack for developing a rapport with people he interviewed while being sensitive and kind to his sources. Those skills translated well into doing on-camera reports about all sorts of stories.
“As a news anchor, you always knew his story would be spot on,” Callaghan said. “You always knew that whatever story he did was going to be solid. I don’t think he ever missed a deadline. He was completely unflappable.”
If he were to compare Rose to a baseball player, Callaghan said, he would describe him as the player who got the crucial hits and helped his team win.
“He always delivered,” Callaghan said.
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