NEW YORK -- Jerry Nachman, the colorful, award-winning journalist who achieved success as editor of the New York Post and went on to become a vice president and host of a news show on MSNBC, has died after a year-long battle with cancer, officials at the network said Tuesday. He was 57.

FeedRoom

MSNBC's Jerry Nachman Remembered

Nachman died overnight at his home in Hoboken, N.J., said the network, where Nachman had been editor in chief and vice president since April 2002. In January 2003, he told the viewers of his show, "Nachman," that he had been diagnosed with a malignancy in his gall bladder.

"Jerry Nachman will be remembered not only for what he brought to the news -- insight, context and a relentless search for the truth -- but also for what he brought to the newsroom -- integrity, tenacity and a refreshing splash of humor," said NBC News President Neal Shapiro. "He will be missed by all of us at NBC News."

Nachman's "passion for news was contagious," said Erik Sorenson, MSNBC president and general manager. "All of us will fondly remember Jerry's many wonderful stories about his colorful years in the news business. We will miss him greatly."

Nachman spent years as both the news director for WNBC-TV and the vice president of WCBS-TV, both in New York, and as the general manager of the WRC radio and television stations in Washington. He also appeared regularly as a guest on the nationally syndicated "Imus in the Morning" radio show.

While most news directors called the shots off-camera, Nachman was a familiar sight to New York viewers. At WCBS, he appeared on a weekly round-table discussion with other reporters on events in the city, and clashed frequently and boisterously with Mayor Rudolph Giuliani over public access to the news.

Nachman was a police reporter and political columnist for the New York Post before then-publisher Peter Kalikow hired him as editor in chief in 1989. Under his tenure, the newspaper broke stories about sex abuse accusations against the Rev. Bruce Ritter at New York's Covenant House, and about City College Professor Leonard Jeffries' inflammatory comments about Jews. The paper also survived near-closure in 1990 over tense labor negotiations.

Lou Colasuonno, who succeeded Nachman as editor in chief in 1992, said Nachman was a quintessential New Yorker who could hold court with stories of competitive journalism in the city.

"He was a tabloid guy," Colasuonno said. "He kind of fit with the Post," said Colasuonno. "He was rough and tumble around the edges, he loved his Chinese food."

"He was a very smart guy; excellent writer, an excellent leader," said Col Allan, the Post's current editor in chief. "Most of all, he was an outstanding journalist."

He left the paper in 1992 and later spent a few years in California writing for television and film. Nachman worked in late 2001 as a staff writer for the NBC television series "UC: Undercover," was a staff writer and executive producer at "Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher," and co-wrote a short film for the American Film Institute that won an Academy Award in the student competition in 1999.

Nachman's final assignment for MSNBC was reporting on the Michael Jackson case in California, the network said. His talk show went off the air in January when he went on medical leave, but he returned to the network as a frequent on-air contributor in May, MSNBC said.

Nachman won a Peabody Award, an Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio-Television News Directors Association and an Emmy Award, and twice served as a Pulitzer Prize juror.

His survivors include a brother and two nieces. Funeral arrangements were incomplete.