Sam Landsberger: How sports journalist won over legions of fans just days before his tragic death
The AFL world has come together to mourn the tragic loss of respected journalist Sam Landsberger after the reporter was hit by a truck on his way to work on Tuesday.
Landsberger, 35, died in hospital Tuesday morning after the shocking accident in Richmond, leaving colleagues in mourning.
The journalist joined the Herald Sun in 2010 and quickly established himself as a top footy reporter. This season he had a spot on the Fox Footy show Midweek Tackle, such was his status in the game.
But he was no one-hit wonder and was an award-winning cricket journalist who covered every sport.
He was therefore sent to Paris to cover the Olympic Games for News Corp. During his trip to France, he won a large number of new followers with his dynamic and idiosyncratic reporting.
The 35-year-old regularly posted a daily schedule for fans watching the action at home early in the morning, with the precise order of broadcasts displayed against an iMessage background.
After he posted his final day’s schedule of a very busy trip, many followers on Twitter expressed their appreciation for Landsberger’s excellent reporting.
“Thanks for all the time you put into this, mate!” one fan said. “It was amazing.”
Sam Landsberger died Tuesday morning after a collision with a truck
Herald Sun reporter hit by truck on his way to work in Richmond, Melbourne
“Thanks for all your work, mate,” said a second fan. “It’s a bit of a shame that it’s been four years already.”
A third fan said: ‘Thank you so much for the work you do. It’s so good and easy to follow. See you in four years.’
“Thanks for all the time you put into this Sam, I really appreciate it,” said a fourth user.
“I appreciate all the effort,” another fan said. “I couldn’t have enjoyed it half as much with these daily updates.”
Chief football journalist Mark Robinson led the celebrations among his colleagues and said: ‘Sam Landsberger had a huge future in journalism and made great strides early on.
‘He loved the game and understood it, and he respected his craft. He was such a valuable member of Melbourne’s sports journalism community, someone who could cover all aspects of football. And people trusted him.’
Landsberger had won a legion of new fans thanks to his reporting on the Olympic Games
Former Australia captain Aaron Finch said in X: ‘He was a great journalist and someone everyone had a lot of respect for.’
Landsberger appeared on Fox Footy’s Midweek Tackle this season, alongside presenter Jay Clark, who recalled the first day he joined News Corp.
“I enjoyed working with Sam and I admire him as a person,” he said.
‘I can still remember him walking into the Herald Sun office one day and how effortlessly and beautifully he covered the match from the start.’
“He was a great writer, a joy to read, a fearless journalist and an energetic ball on television with Fox Footy. He was the star of our Midweek Tackle and an incredible friend who always made you laugh. I will miss him so much and our phone calls that always went on for too long.”
Jon Ralph said: ‘Sammy was an incredible journalist. He had all the best qualities of an old-fashioned journalist with rock-solid sources – who he protected at all costs – a tremendous work ethic and stubborn as hell when he picked up a story.
The media world is in mourning, with an outpouring of tributes for the beloved reporter
‘And he did it with a modern sensibility, with his fingers flicking and texting his sources constantly to gather the latest news that he could crunch into columns of news chunks.’
Landsberger was educated at Melbourne High School and attended Monash University from 2007 to 2010. He received his bachelor’s degree in journalism.
In 2013 he won the Australian Football Media Association Award, an award for the most outstanding young media reporter of the year.
That same year he also won the Walkley Young Journalist of the Year award and won three consecutive Twenty20 media awards.
Landsberger was a lifelong supporter of the Western Bulldogs. He was the son of Dr Jake Landsberger, who served as the AFL club’s team doctor.
Officers from the Melbourne Highway Patrol are continuing their investigation into the collision. The exact details surrounding the crash are not yet known.
Any witnesses or drivers with dashcam footage of the incident are urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.