by Christopher Sanchez
Daily Lobo
Listeners tuning in to "Morning Edition" will no longer wake up to the same voice Monday.
Tom Trowbridge, KUNM's morning show host, left the airwaves on Friday after hosting the program for more than four years. Trowbridge said he found another career dealing with DWI issues for the New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department.
Working for the state will allow him to work standard hours, he said, as opposed to 5 a.m. to 1 p.m., which he has been working since he took the position.
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He said leaving KUNM is not a big deal, because the station will continue to thrive without him.
"I'm certain my replacement will carry on well the way I did," he said.
But Renee Blake, news director of KUNM, said Trowbridge's departure is a big deal. Trowbridge hosted the most-listened-to program and was in regular contact with state legislators, she said.
"He will be missed," she said. "He will not only be missed for what he did, but who he is."
Trowbridge was deeply involved in politics and made it his own beat, she said.
He spoke to Sen. Pete Domenici and Sen. Jeff Bingaman every week.
"I imagine (Domenici) will miss him too," she said.
KUNM staff will take turns hosting "Morning Edition" until a permanent replacement can be found, she said.
"Hopefully listeners will be patient with us," she said. "Tom was there every morning for years and years."
Trowbridge said he has been working on and off with KUNM since 1986, when he was a freelance reporter.
Trowbridge said he became interested in radio broadcast during undergraduate studies at the University of Oregon. He was a reporter for his campus paper and took up radio broadcast because he was tired of working on mundane stories, he said.
"That's how it all started," he said.
Trowbridge applied to host "Morning Edition" in 2001. He worked in commercial radio before, he said, but enjoyed working for public broadcasting more.
"I really enjoyed reporting in-depth news as opposed to 45 seconds of news," he said.
Trowbridge said he enjoyed hosting the show after Sept. 11, 2001.
"People started tuning into news at that point in time," he said.
Preparation is the key to hosting a successful show, Trowbridge said.
"Know what's going on. Have a general idea what's going on in the world. Do your job," he said.
Trowbridge does not doubt he will return to radio broadcast, he said.
"I never say never," he said.
Blake said she will miss the occasional moments of humor they shared together.
"It was nice to have worked with him," she said.
