Nothing lasts forever. And that’s especially true in the region’s media, which has been on its own rollercoaster ride over the past decade and a half. Tomorrow will be a big downer for me, as Scott Shuey leaves the region.

For the few of you out there in the region’s PR scene who don’t know Scott, he was the business editor at Dubai’s English-language Gulf News. He’d been there for over a decade, joining in 2006. During that time, Scott did two remarkable things, given the media landscape in the region. He was able to break and report news stories that’d make any paper proud. And he also trained many of the best journalists around in the region today. Reporters including Alexander Cornwell (now at Reuters), Sarah Algethami (formerly of Bloomberg), and Ed Clowes (now at the Daily Telegraph) worked under Scott. His current team member Sarah Diaa described Scott to me as “an excellent boss”.

I’ll miss Scott, and what he was trying to do here. I worked closely with him, Ed, and Sarah (both of whom are brilliant journalists in their own right). They pushed new channels before they were popular locally, such as podcasts, and they also pushed the boundaries of what could be reported. For me, there’s nothing better than having to deal with a journalist I respect, and I respected every one who worked with Scott because he showed them how to get to the bottom of a story.

In a region where the media is struggling to deliver original news that isn’t click-bait, Scott and his influence will be sorely missed. For me, it’s the end of an era. Thank you Scott for all the memories, the tough interviews, and for taking to task so many communicators who needed to up their game when dealing with you and your team.