Departures of note

Robin Keay was a Scottish newspaperman who spent more than three decades as editor of the Perthshire Advertiser, overseeing the paper through sweeping technological change from the 'hot metal' era of print and typewriters to the age of computers. Appointed one of the youngest editors in the country at 29, he also had responsibility for the Blairgowrie Advertiser and the Strathearn Herald, and led celebrations marking the paper's 150th anniversary in 1979. Under his editorship the 'PA' was named Scotland's Weekly Newspaper of the Year and posted record circulation figures.

A native of Dundee, Keay was educated at Harris Academy before finding his vocation in journalism with DC Thomson in his home city, where he worked as a reporter for The Courier. Colleagues remembered him as a quietly effective and loyal editor who assembled a talented team and gave them freedom to play to their strengths, and he was widely respected across a publishing group that included 33 titles. He was also known as a stylish golfer with a single-figure handicap, serving as a past captain of Auchterarder Golf Club and a keen member at Kirriemuir, where he made his home in Angus.