Diane Mack, host of the Morning Edition at 88.9 WWNO, has retired after 35 years at the station.
Mack has always aimed to stay grounded in her work. When asked how it felt to know her name was known across the country, she laughed, saying she “would have been very overwhelmed” if she had thought about all the people listening to her every morning. Nonetheless, she is grateful for all who listened to her over the years.
Mack got her start at Loyola University New Orleans where she earned a Bachelor in Arts in Mass Communications.
“Loyola gave me a wonderful education,” she said.
After graduation she briefly worked at KATC-TV in Lafayette and then moved back home to New Orleans where she worked at WDSU-TV. It was after this, in 1993, that she finally found her home at WWNO. Here, she became most known for hosting Louisiana Considered and Morning Edition.
“To work in your hometown, and to do the thing you love… I can’t think of anything better than that. It’s the cherry on top,” Mack said of her career.
Much has happened in these 35 years, and Mack has reported on significant events in recent history. Namely, the attack on Sept. 11, Hurricane Katrina, and COVID-19.
She recalled a situation during Hurricane Katrina where her and many other WWNO staff members were separated. Some went to Georgia while Mack went to Lafayette. They reported from these places and “made do.” These experiences and situations Mack had to report on directly affected people and their lives.
Mack emphasized the importance of empathy when telling stories that bring up a lot of grief for the people involved.
“You want to approach them with kindness and understanding. You want to find out who the person is at their core.That’s the story you want to tell,” she said.
Mack’s advice for sustaining a career for 35 years is simple and firm.
“You’ve got to show up, you’ve got to care, and you’ve got to want to be there.” She explained. “You’ve got to be hungry for it.”
Mack’s advice to future storytellers is that to be successful, you have to listen.
“When you listen, you understand, and you learn,” she said.
Retirement means many things to many people. Some find it exciting, others find it scary. Mack’s attitude around retirement is neither. She simply knew it was time. Mack is excited about bird watching, traveling, and exploring this new chapter of her life. However, she also remains cautious of the future of media with the rise of AI.
“If it’s being used in a constructive way, that’s different,” she said.
What concerns her is artificial intelligence’s ability to “deceive… especially when it’s your own likeness.”
Regardless of this fear, she expressed such excitement for the future media professionals of the world stating that many are doing “incredible things”.
