Philip Sherry, 3 News' first ever anchor, was "an icon of what we do", says Prime News anchor Eric Young.
Speaking to The AM Show on Monday, Young, who read sports news alongside Sherry, said news of his death on Sunday brought him "a certain sadness".
"He was a broadcasting legend, an icon of what we do," he said.
Sherry spent decades as one of New Zealand's leading newsreaders in both radio and television news. He presented bulletins for NZBC and TVNZ before reading the very first news bulletin on TV3 when it launched.
A statement from his family on Sunday revealed Sherry died aged 87 after a short illness.
Young says Sherry was known as "Mr Credibility" thanks to his ability to "absolutely command an audience".
"He just oozed authority… Philip lived in a time, [with] no social media, no public persona other than 'he is the man who brings us the world into our living rooms' and he did it with grace, style and authority and he did it repeatedly and after a while that just takes its hold."
Young added that although Sherry's reputation as 'Mr Credibility" is well known, fewer people know what a great sense of humour he had.
"Not everyone talks about Philip's humour which was as dry as the desert - you knew a good line was coming when he started a sentence with 'my dear boy," Young told The AM Show through laughter.
Sitting next to Sherry in the early days of his career was "the best news education" Young could have hoped for, he says.
"All the best bits I do are Philip's.
Sherry is survived by his wife Margaret, seven children, many grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.
And Sherry's legacy lives on at Three, with his granddaughter Isabella working in the Newshub newsroom.
