December 22, 2016…Well loved veteran WINN FM Journalist Toni Frederick has left the field of broadcasting as of Wednesday 21st December 2016.
Frederick did her final on air stint hosting the station’s “breakfast show” and ended her show in tears playing the Stevie Wonder song “As”.
In a conversation with Freedom Fm on Thursday, Frederick recalled her start in media some 40 years ago, 15 of which were spent at WINN FM.
Frederick will now be the Director of Visitor Experience and National Museum Manager of the historical National Trust Society, a position she says she is well fortified to do having been a history teacher.
In a Facebook post she stated “Well, after 14 1/2 years behind the mic, today I hung up my hat as a full-time broadcast journalist. It’s been quite a ride. I have had the opportunity to work with and meet some amazing people and to witness some pretty incredible (and sometimes surreal) events up close. I have felt much love and (I am told it’s par for the course) much hate and I have laughed a lot and I have cried. It’s an experience I wouldn’t trade for the world, but it is time to move on.
I’m tired. My journalist friends, I know will understand. You work all the time, everywhere you go there’s a story to be told/investigated. You can never ever get away. There is never any down time. You work under constant deadlines, incredible pressure to get the story, and get it right, it is relentless and mostly thankless…and you never have a minute to revel in ‘a story well done,’ because you are already tracking down sources for your next, and of course you never sleep well, because your mind is clocking over thinking about all the things you have to follow up on.
Some people love the constant adrenaline rush, and the drama and urgency of the news business, but the older I get the more I crave calm. It was time for me to bow out.
Must say though, that the morning show part of the radio gig was never work (except for waking up at 4:40 AM!!). lol!
Big shout out to my WINN FM family past and present.
To the Big Cheese who told me before I was hired, “Radio starts from scratch every day. It doesn’t matter how good you were yesterday, you mess up today and that’s all people will remember.” I always reminded myself of that, so I could keep my feet firmly on the ground.
My last show today was fun. I had a blast, and I as of tomorrow, I can safely say, “I was good yesterday.”
“Back to Master Control.”