A Note From Natasha Senjanovic

All good things, they say, must come to an end. So too my tenure as WPLN’s afternoon host.

It’s a bittersweet goodbye. I’m returning to my first love, of reporting from the field, so I won’t be disappearing from local or national airwaves. But that doesn’t make it any easier to end the daily relationship I have with you, our listeners.

These past three years, many of you have told me you say my name along with me, which always makes me smile. (There are still some trip-ups, but we’ll work on that.) And the feedback I’ve gotten on my reporting has been intelligent, informed, vital.

But what has struck the deepest chord, as a host, is hearing that I feel like a friend. One who pops up in your home or car on a regular basis, bringing to life — and making sense of — your city, region and state, specifically to you. That’s a special kind of intimacy.

There have been joyful events, and painful ones. Stories and incidents that unfolded over time, others that “broke” and changed from hour to hour. Delivering them to you in a calibrated, thoughtful way is very much a team effort, and a responsibility none of us in the WPLN newsroom takes lightly.

For that to translate into trust, and friendship, at a time when a growing number of journalists are being marginalized or threatened is a privilege.

If this were an Oscar speech, I’m sure they’d cue the music, so let me get to the thank yous.

To my colleagues, for your unwavering dedication to your craft and the tyranny of the newscast clock. It would be impossible to make it sound seamless without you.

Thank you, WPLN, for bringing me here. Thank you, Nashville, for adopting me.

And to those of you who welcome us into your daily lives, who listen voraciously and loyally but also strive to keep us on our toes — thank you most of all.