Former Nine Network newsreader Brian Naylor and his wife Moiree are among the 96 already confirmed dead in the Victorian bushfires.The couple's lawyer John Beckwith revealed the deaths in a statement to the media.
"The family of Brian and Moiree Naylor are mourning the loss of their father, mother and grandparents in the tragic fire at Kinglake West," the statement said.
"They request that their grief and privacy be respected by the media at this time of great family distress."
The 78-year-old's media career spanned more than 40 years and included work at both the Seven and Nine Networks.
Naylor became the chief Melbourne newsreader for Seven in 1970, before leaving to present for the rival Nine Network in 1978. He remained as anchor of Nine's top rating news service at GTV-9 until retiring in 1998.
Former colleague Tony Jones was covering the aftermath of the fire at Kinglake and said the scene at one particular street was horrifying.
"It was absolutely awful, and knowing that it was Brian's street, everyone just looked at each other and feared for the worst, because we had been trying to call him on his mobile all day, and I guess now we know why," said Jones to the Fairfax Radio Network.
Nine Network news director Michael Venus has described Naylor as a "consummate professional" and Sky News journalist John Gatfield has said his former colleague is "somebody that everybody in Victoria will relate to".
Many more tributes for the veteran newsreader are sure to surface in the coming days.
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