Reuters consumer columnist Lipka dies

Mitch Lipka, a consumer columnist for Reuters and other media organizations, died Tuesday from complications related to sarcoma.

He was 53.

Lauren Young, the Money editor at Reuters, wrote, “I never met Mitch in person, but he was someone who was part of my daily work life since 2011. We talked and emailed each other constantly. He was a real, old-school newspaper reporter. Mitch relied on sources (REALLY GOOD ONES!) to break news. And he saw stories beyond the headlines. No one knew the consumer landscape better than Mitch.”

Lipka’s story about organic milk, which was published almost three years ago (“Is organic milk worth the higher price?”), is still the best-read Reuters Money article.

Lipka was also editor of The Consumer Chronicle. He had been “Consumer Ally” for AOL on its acclaimed personal finance channel, WalletPop.com, where he led a team of 10 reporters.

He received the 2010 New York Press Club award for best consumer writing on the web and is the 2011 Best Friend honoree from Kids in Danger for his work covering child product safety.

In addition, Lipka was the Consumer Alert columnist for The Boston Globe and Worcester Telegram & Gazette. He is also the child safety expert on Parents.com.

He has long been regarded as a child safety expert and advocate. He started tracking recalls in the 1990s and spent an entire year investigating flaws in how the nation’s laws deal with defective and dangerous products.

He has been a reporter and editor for more than 25 years and has worked for The Philadelphia Inquirer, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Consumer Reports.

Lipka is a father of two and caused a recall in 2009 after his son brought home a flashlight from a birthday party that started to burn.