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EDITORIAL: Fraser Dougall, Rick Smith helped define broadcasting in Northwest

Originally published in the Thunder Bay Source, Thursday Aug. 20 This was going to be an editorial extolling the successes of Fraser Dougall, who died last week at the age of 73 after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Originally published in the Thunder Bay Source, Thursday Aug. 20

This was going to be an editorial extolling the successes of Fraser Dougall, who died last week at the age of 73 after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Then came the news on Monday that Rick Smith, a radio icon in Thunder Bay, was also gone too soon.

The two men helped define the broadcast industry in the city – and across the country – for the past five decades.

It`s been a sad week on Hill Street, losing two broadcast giants less than seven days apart.

Rick Smith, famous for his daily talk show that put the issues of Thunder?Bay front and centre for decades, was the trusted voice of thousands who got to the bottom of things where others might simply brush the dust off the surface.

It was Fraser Dougall who made it possible, allowing Smith free reign over the airwaves, rarely if ever stepping in to day-to-day newsroom operations.

Both men had visions for the future of media in Thunder Bay, and both, in their own ways, made them happen.

Dougall found a way to remain fiercely independent in a Canadian media landscape that has increasingly owned by fewer and fewer companies.

Smith was never afraid to stir the pot, something journalists in communities of this size often avoid.

Both will be missed tremendously.

 





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