MR Bruce Ellen, the managing director of the Latrobe Valley Express and Gippsland Times, passed away last week after a long battle with cancer.
He died last Wednesday, March 27 shortly after being admitted to Maryvale Private Hospital in Morwell.
He was 65.
A prominent Latrobe Valley businessman, he was the driving force behind the Wellington Shire and Latrobe Valley Big Blokes BBQ, held annually for the past 13 years to raise awareness about prostate cancer and the need for men to be regularly tested.
Mr Ellen was also a major figure in country and regional newspapers, having been made a life member of Country Press Australia (CPA) two years ago in recognition of his commitment and contribution to CPA and the newspaper industry over the best part of four decades.
Before his death, Mr Ellen was the longest-serving current board member of the Victorian Country Press Association, having begun with the VCPA as an Executive Councillor in 1988.
He served as the last President of the VCPA last century and the first President this century – 1998-2000.
In 2020, at the start of the pandemic, he was instrumental in liaising with the Victorian state government to organise information and advertising support across all VCPA member newspapers.
More recently, Mr Ellen served as President of Country Press Australia from 2019 to 2021 after joining the board in 2016. He lead CPA during the organisation’s most significant period, working day, night and over weekends to help navigate CPA through the most recent pandemic and organise advertising from the federal government.
He also negotiated a collective bargaining agreement through the ACCC and negotiated personally with both Google and Facebook to ensure great financial and practical outcomes for members.
At the same time as his relentless activity advocating for the industry, Mr Ellen was involved in establishing a range of newspapers in South Australia and Queensland and a print site in Rockhampton. He was a director of a number of regional newspaper companies in Queensland and in Mount Gambier.
He is survived by his wife and two children.
A service will be held this Friday (April 5) at 1.30pm in Morwell to celebrate his life.
