Longtime radio broadcaster Rick Howe dead at 69
CBC
Rick Howe, a legendary radio broadcaster whose voice was familiar to many Nova Scotians, has died at age 69.
CityNews 95.7, Howe's former employer, announced his death Thursday morning. A story on the radio station's website says the longtime journalist died of cancer.
Howe got his start in radio in the 1970s and became a fixture of the airwaves across the Maritimes, reporting and commenting on the region's biggest news stories for five decades.
"In my mind, he was a local David Attenborough," said Katie Hartai, who worked with Howe on his popular talk show, the Rick Howe Show, for five years. "You know, he had this lovely voice that just made you want to turn up the volume on your radio."
She said Howe was a natural when it came to talk radio, never struggling to fill three and a half hours of air time on his daily show. She said he booked all his own interviews and always had informed opinions about the latest news — opinions he was always willing to share.
Hartai said callers usually started queuing up at least 10 minutes before the start of Howe's "open hour."
"You could always count on his loyal listeners to call in, who have literally been following him for decades and decades, and they would always want to to call in and just have a chat with Rick," she said.
Howe was recognized for his aplomb as a broadcaster with several regional journalism awards, and a lifetime achievement award in 2012 from Canada's Radio Television Digital News Association.
He wrote a weekly column for The Daily News newspaper for eight years, and authored three books of non-fiction.
Hartai said she considered herself lucky to be mentored by Howe, who gave her some of her first on-air opportunities.
"I really, really looked up to Rick. He helped me grow in so many ways.… And he wasn't afraid of correcting me, which — I honestly love that about him."
Hartai was not the only young journalist to be taken under Howe's wing.
More than 40 years ago, a 16-year-old Steve Murphy also learned about radio journalism from Howe.
"In many respects I maybe owe my career to Rick," said the former CTV News anchor.
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