WFTV Anchor Mark Joyella asked the station to let him out of his contract so he can head back to New York and family.

Joyella came to WFTV in June 2012 from CNN in New York. He writes on his blog that leaving New York, where our entire extended family lives, was far harder than expected. The old cliche is that living in Florida means you’ll see a lot of your relatives. Turns out, we didn’t. It’s a short flight, but it’s still a flight—and when somebody back home falls ill, or has a birthday party, we can’t be there the way we’d like. 

The homesickness—and for me, with my Mom now living alone in Maine and recovering from cancer—the guilt, became overwhelming. 

So today I handed in my resignation, and the bosses here were kind enough to release me from my contract. My wife was offered her old job back at CNN, a great company that has treated both of us well, and that gave us enough security to make the decision: it’s time to go home.