Ohio ND Stepping Down

WTOL (Toledo) News Director CJ Hoyt is leaving the station. 

In a memo to the staff, Hoyt says that his main reason for leaving is "personal."

Although people have lived in Toledo for hundreds of years, Hoyt says, "Frankly, my wife wouldn’t make it another winter here." We doubt this is a phrase that will be used by the Toledo Chamber of Commerce in any brochures.

Hoyt joined WTOL in 2011, coming from WFIE in Evansville, IN, where we presume is soooo much better than Toledo.

Here's the memo Hoyt sent to the staff.

From: Hoyt, CJ
Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2015 3:42:07 PM To: All WTOL Content
Cc: Lorenzen, Brian
Subject: Newsroom Changes

Hello everyone:

I made this announcement today for the dayside and nightside crews. I’m sorry I couldn’t do it at a time that everyone would be there, but wanted to get the word out as quickly as possible.

After a lot of discussion with my wife and then with Brian, we’ve decided that my last day here will be on or about June 30th. This was not an easy decision. I love the newsroom that I’ve played a part in building. I’m so proud of everything you do every day. We have the hardest working newsroom in Raycom... and I don’t think there is a close second.

Ultimately, this decision is personal. Frankly, my wife wouldn’t make it another winter here. Although Toledo has been great to us, it’s not home, particularly for Oneida. Setting a date in June gives Brian plenty of time to find a new News Director to lead this staff going into the November sweeps period.

I don’t have details right now about where we’re headed, but I will pass those details on at the appropriate time. I will miss you all, but in this business, there are no goodbyes, only “until next time.” We never know when our paths will cross again.

If you’d like to talk about this, feel free to stop in any time.

CJ Hoyt / News Director / WTOL 11 News / FOX Toledo News