Sadness has descended on the Crikey bunker today. Diana Gribble, one of our publishers and owners, died last night after a short illness and after a long, memorable life.

Di Gribble was an extraordinary figure in Australian publishing, culture and media. She was co-founder of the iconic book publisher McPhee Gribble in 1975, co-founder of the Text Media Group in 1990, co-founder of Private Media (owner of Crikey, SmartCompany, The Power Index, StartUp Smart and Property Observer) in 2003, a former deputy chair of the ABC, and a former director of Lonely Planet, Care Australia, the Australia Council, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Melbourne Major Events Company and Circus Oz.

Di was a creator. She inspired and indefatigably supported the people around her — family, friends, colleagues, authors, artists. She nurtured young talent and motivated old talent. She loved books, ideas, the idea of ideas and she loved being a publisher of Crikey.

We’ll all miss her terribly.