Journalist Tommy Tomlinson to leave WFAE amid cutbacks
Tomlinson, 61, is a well-known former Charlotte Observer columnist and hosts a podcast for the radio station
The following article appeared in the July 21, 2025, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
Longtime journalist Tommy Tomlinson is taking a buyout from WFAE, amid federal funding cuts
Longtime Charlotte journalist and commentator Tommy Tomlinson is one of the casualties of cutbacks at WFAE, Charlotte’s NPR station — the result of federal defunding of public media and what the station calls a “difficult economic environment.”
Tomlinson, 61, is a former Charlotte Observer columnist who hosts the station’s “SouthBound” podcast and delivers a weekly commentary.
In an interview with The Ledger on Friday, Tomlinson said he’s taking a buyout effective at the end of the month. WFAE announced Friday that it is eliminating six jobs at the station “from all areas of the company, including those in the newsroom, business and membership departments, with voluntary and involuntary separations.”
Last week, Congress voted to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which provides grants to local NPR and PBS affiliates. WFAE said that the CPB provided more than $800,000 in support to the station last year and that the cuts would total about 10% of the station’s budget.
Before joining WFAE in 2018, Tomlinson was at The Charlotte Observer from 1989 to 2012.
He said he appreciated the station taking a chance on him — “I obviously don’t have a natural voice for radio” — and thanked his generous and helpful colleagues.
“I have nothing but good things to say about that place,” he said. “They are doing a very difficult thing that a lot of people are trying to do, which is navigate this incredibly difficult time for local media especially and trying to do the best they can and keep the public informed as best they can. It’s a lot harder job than it used to be.”
He said he’s going to take some time to figure out the next steps. But they’ll likely include more frequent writing of his newsletter, The Writing Shed, and toying with a few ideas for books he’d like to write. He’s the author of “The Elephant in the Room,” a memoir chronicling his battle with weight; and “Dogland,” a humorous exploration of the dog show world.
“This is the first time in a while that I’m a free agent again,” he said. “I’m going to take that time and be careful about what I’m going to do.” —Tony Mecia
(Disclosure: The Ledger is a news partner of WFAE. We jointly produce Transit Time, a newsletter on transit and transportation, and our reporters appear weekly on-air to discuss local business stories on WFAE’s “BizWorthy” segment.)
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