Former broadcaster, Rick Howe has died of cancer.

He was 69.

Howe began his career in the 1970s at radio stations in New Brunswick where he did hockey play-by-play before becoming a news reporter in Saint John.

In 1978, he joined the CJCH-C100 newsroom in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

He went on to become the legendary host of The Hotline, one of the longest standing radio talk shows in Atlantic Canada, and later The Rick Howe Show.

Howe, who championed for change, would sign off each show with the catchphrase, “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.”

Retiring in 2021 due to health issues, he moved to Nova Scotia’s South Shore with his wife, Yvonne Colbert – also a well-known journalist.

Howe wrote about his nearly 50-year career of covering news in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in his memoir, Behind the Mic.

Murphy remembers long-time friend, mentor

Long-time CTV News anchor Steve Murphy met Rick Howe in a Saint John newsroom in 1977.

“Rick was among those who took the time to teach me the trade. He became my friend, long before I realized he really was a mentor, and a teacher,” said Murphy.

They would later work together at CJCH.

He says Howe told him about the job at CTV, and encouraged him to apply for it.

Murphy adds Howe was an advocate for truth, and a voice for justice through his journalism.

“Rick will be remembered as a person who valued the truth, and who persisted in trying to get answers for people, particularly people who might not always get answers.”

Murphy says he’ll be missed, and his thoughts are with Yvonne and his boys.

“This is an impossible loss for them. They were the love of each other’s lives. They were a wonderful dynamic.”