Ramirez

Raul Ramirez, executive director of news and public affairs at KQED and previously an editor and reporter at the San Francisco Examiner and Oakland Tribune, died Friday (Nov. 15) at his Berkeley home following a fight with esophageal cancer. He was 67.

The Chronicle said in its obit that Ramirez was a “defining force in Bay Area journalism.”

Ramirez, who was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in July, died days before the ceremony where he was to receive a Distinguished Service to Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists’ Northern California chapter.

KQED-FM president and general manager Jo Anne Wallace said in a statement, “Raul’s commitment to journalism ethics was a major influence on all of the work we’ve done at KQED. He insisted on fact-based, accurate reporting that avoided the sensational and, instead, told meaningful stories about the impact of news and issues on the lives of ordinary people.”