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February 2, 2019: So long and farewell: WTOP says goodbye to longtime DC home
So long and farewell: WTOP says goodbye to longtime DC home
By Jack Pointer
February 2, 2019 11:12 pm
Accumulate enough good memories in one place, and the bond is hard to sever. After 30 years at 3400 Idaho Ave. NW, WTOP is moving on to a state-of-the-art newsroom and studios in Friendship Heights over the weekend. Throughout the day, familiar voices and other journalists in the WTOP newsroom will reflect on an era's end — and look ahead to the next chapter.
3400 IDAHO AVE. NW — A newsroom is unlike anything in the modern working world. There aren’t many two-hour meetings, for example, or mandatory webinars. ... There aren’t many “team-building” functions either. Nor should there be: Camaraderie is inherent in a good newsroom. The result is a tenacious, efficient machine, even when the computers are down or when hell has literally broken loose during one of the biggest stories of a generation.
No, a news operation doesn’t have time for the stuff that most working adults have to endure. And that goes double for a 24/7 operation like WTOP’s, where the focus remains on the work at hand: cover the news, get it right, be honest with your audience and colleagues — and hey, someone brought Oreos!
We’ve all moved on at some point in our lives: From home. From school. From relationships. From other jobs. Moving on from a newsroom is a different beast. Something much better awaits up the road, yeah, but at the moment it doesn’t feel right to just power down and walk out for good. ... Accumulate enough good memories in one place, and the bond can be hard to sever. ... After nearly 30 years at 3400 Idaho Ave. NW, WTOP moved on to a state-of-the-art newsroom and studios in Chevy Chase, Maryland, Saturday night.
....
By Jack Pointer
February 2, 2019 11:12 pm
Accumulate enough good memories in one place, and the bond is hard to sever. After 30 years at 3400 Idaho Ave. NW, WTOP is moving on to a state-of-the-art newsroom and studios in Friendship Heights over the weekend. Throughout the day, familiar voices and other journalists in the WTOP newsroom will reflect on an era's end — and look ahead to the next chapter.
3400 IDAHO AVE. NW — A newsroom is unlike anything in the modern working world. There aren’t many two-hour meetings, for example, or mandatory webinars. ... There aren’t many “team-building” functions either. Nor should there be: Camaraderie is inherent in a good newsroom. The result is a tenacious, efficient machine, even when the computers are down or when hell has literally broken loose during one of the biggest stories of a generation.
No, a news operation doesn’t have time for the stuff that most working adults have to endure. And that goes double for a 24/7 operation like WTOP’s, where the focus remains on the work at hand: cover the news, get it right, be honest with your audience and colleagues — and hey, someone brought Oreos!
We’ve all moved on at some point in our lives: From home. From school. From relationships. From other jobs. Moving on from a newsroom is a different beast. Something much better awaits up the road, yeah, but at the moment it doesn’t feel right to just power down and walk out for good. ... Accumulate enough good memories in one place, and the bond can be hard to sever. ... After nearly 30 years at 3400 Idaho Ave. NW, WTOP moved on to a state-of-the-art newsroom and studios in Chevy Chase, Maryland, Saturday night.
....
