Peter Rakobowchuk
Isuue #83 - August 9, 2020
This edition of Sky Studio is dedicated to Peter Rakobowchuk
This edition of Sky Studio is dedicated to Peter Rakobowchuk who joined former colleagues in Sky Studio, August 2, 2020.
Well known and highly regarded journalist Peter Rakobowchuk (Peter Ray), who started his broadcast career at CKCY Radio in Sault Ste. Marie, joined Sky Studio colleagues August 2, 2020 at age 71. He’d been fighting cancer for many years.
I (Art Osborne) faced Peter as a competitor when I was at CJIC Radio and TV as a news reporter. We shared the Press Table at a lot of the same meetings and I remember him as enthusiastic, gregarious and humorous - someone you looked forward to being with and ‘doing battle’ against to get a story.
He was never shy about asking pointed questions of officials and was the kind of dedicated broadcaster you knew would be moving on to the national scene as he did, becoming a Broadcast News/ Canadian Press correspondent for over 40 years.
Veteran broadcaster Russ Hilderley saw Peter’s talent and brought him to Sault Ste. Marie giving him a start in broadcasting that would carry on for over 50 years on various stations and from many cities. Russ shares his recollections on Peter, gives us the ‘inside’ story and pays tribute to a former colleague/friend who advanced Canadian journalism and along the way made and became a part of its history.
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By Russ Hilderley
Peter came to Sault Ste. Marie in 1970. CKCY was seeking to fill our evening news slot, covering city council meetings, and other municipal events. I was on city council in 1970 as an alderman for Ward 3 so this reporter couldn't report objectively on any city business and needed help in the newsroom.
An application arrived one day, from a guy by the name of Peter Rakobowchuk, who was looking to break in to radio broadcasting. His voice wasn't Lorne Green's (another Canadian) but he enunciated well in both languages, AND, had taken a course in BROADCASTING! A firm in Toronto offered "on air" experiences and solicited students through several Broadcast Magazines.
Peter instantly captured my interest when he opened the interview with the following statement (which I remember to this day), “I was voted by the class as being the LEAST likely to succeed in this business"!
I asked him why would he tell me such a thing. His reply: “I need to prove they were ALL wrong, and if you hire me,I'll prove it to you !" And....so he did...in spades.
Peter had introduced himself as an educated Quebecer from Montreal, and could do a newscast in both national languages flawlessly! "Sault Ste. Marie, being a "french name" could use a french speaking reporter,” he added.
When I told him my mother was born and raised in Perce', on the Gaspe' Peninsula, I shook his hand and said, "Welcome aboard....How soon can you start?"
Peter Ray became married to his "career" in broadcast news, and plunged in to the thick of city life and excelled in reporting the good, the bad, and the "just' ugly stuff....7 days a week.
I maintained an interest in his career after he joined CP/BN. It hadn't come as any surprise to me that he'd move on to BN, as he was a prolific contributor by expanding his local stories to appeal to a national audience.
We kept in touch throughout the years, and when he became rooted in Space News, I offered him my stepson's name, as a good source on "all-things" in the Canadian Space Industry. He interviewed Grant Bonin several times over the past several years, expanding his penchant for news on satellites, launches, who to contact etc.
Peter promised to visit the "SOO" when he retired.....but as we've learned, his "retirement" was only part time. I congratulated him last year, on his 40th anniversary with CP/CN.
I wish we had spent more time together in our younger days, but he'll stay connected to all who knew him as a true professional. His passion was nurtured initially by the staff at CKCY, who embraced him as a talented newshound, and a "helluva nice guy"!
Peter "Ray" Rakobowchuk certainly proved to his "Classmates" they had terribly misjudged him.
He has not retired but just joined other colleagues in SKY STUDIO! Saying "Peter, rest in peace"....would not be appropriate in this case. He'll just be too busy looking for an old fashioned typewriter and a new network in which to report Space News, from a whole new perspective!
I'm Russ Hilderley, reporting for CKCY News.
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Special Announcement
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/pointe-claire-qc/peter-rakobowchuk-9295360
News stories by Peter- some highlights selected by CBC
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/peter-rakobowchuk-1.4313057
Peter’s Facebook
(Look for a post by Peter’s colleague Nelson Wyatt who shares some wonderful inside stories.)
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010750540010