Boston Broadcast Legend Dies at 66

Long time Boston television news director Jim Thistle has died of throat cancer.

WBUR's Steve Brown has more.

BROWN: Jim Thistle made his mark heading up newsrooms at channels 4, 5 and 7, in a broadcast career that spanned 30 years. In 1969, as news director at channel 56, he saw promise in a young job applicant named Natalie Jacobson. Jacobson worked for him for many years, and says he was involved in all aspects of the news.

JACOBSON: He was the kind of guy that could change a tire on a newsroom truck, just as easily as he could change the lead to the six o'clock news, ten seconds before news time. It was never too late to get it right.

BROWN: After leaving broadcasting, Thistle became director of the broadcast journalism program at Boston University. Jim Thistle was 66.