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Tragedy-Triumph

By Anslem Samuel | Published January 28, 2011 | Full size is 500 × 320 pixels

Turn tragedy into service: A broadcast pioneer who smashed through glass ceilings in Chicago radio and television, Dee suffered a horrific ordeal. In 1971, she was kidnapped, shot in the head twice and left for dead. Recovering, despite the odds, she was back on the air within a year. Dee also became a community activist and helped draft the nation's first victims' bill of rights law—a model for other states. Says Merri Dee: "When you get an opportunity to do something special outside of what you do every day and accept it, you can make a difference."

Turn tragedy into service: A broadcast pioneer who smashed through glass ceilings in Chicago radio…