‘I’ve come full circle’
Former NTV, VOCM news director Fred Hutton looking forward to becoming co-host of CBC’S ‘Morning Show’
“This is an opportunity that came up that I thought long and hard about for a few months. It’s a good fit in my life right now.”
Fred Hutton, journalist and broadcaster
Fred Hutton was pushing packages of chewing gum through a machine at a Wrigley’s factory in Toronto almost three decades ago when he got a phone call that would change his life.
It was Ed Coady, executive director of CBC in St. John’s at the time, calling to offer Hutton a job to work on the “Here and Now” news show for the summer.
Hutton immediately resigned from the factory job.
“So, I came home … and never looked back,” said Hutton, who worked at the factory for a week in 1989 in between semesters at Memorial University before studying journalism and broadcast communications at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.
“My Wrigley’s manager said he wasn’t surprised because I was the only person who had applied for a job in a suit.”
It was the start of what would become a successful career as a journalist and broadcaster in this province, where he worked as anchor of the NTV Evening News and news director for two decades before being hired as VOCM’S news director in 2013.
Today, Hutton is one of the most recognized and respected people in the business.
On Monday, Hutton will return to where it all began for him.
The 51-year-old will begin work at CBC in St. John’s, where he will co-host the “Morning Show” with Krissy Holmes. Hutton replaces Anthony Germain, who moves to TV to co-host CBC’S “Here and Now.”
“It was hard to leave VOCM. There are a lot of really nice, dedicated people over there who I worked closely with and formed friendships with,” said Hutton, who bid farewell to his VOCM colleagues Sept. 1.
In particular Hutton said he was thankful to John Steele for giving him the chance to get back into radio,
“This is an opportunity that came up that I thought long and hard about for a few months. It’s a good fit in my life right now.
“So, here I go … I’ve come full circle.”
But don’t expect Hutton on the air just yet.
While he wouldn’t discuss the details of his contract with his previous employer, he said it’s not uncommon for private media contracts to include a non-compete clause that stipulates an employee not work (on air) for any competitor for a period of time after leaving the company.
So, for the next few months, Hutton said, he will work on writing for the CBC website and television, “getting a sense of what it’s all about there.”
He admitted it will be an adjustment, going from calling the shots at VOCM to being an on-air host and reporter, but he’s looking forward to it.
“I won’t miss having to do all the budgeting and being responsible for everything,” he said with a chuckle.
“But my new position will allow me to focus on what I actually love, which is interviewing people and doing some reporting in the field.”