South Florida's First News with Andrew Colton

AS YOU ALL KNOW BY NOW, JIMMY CEFALO STEPPED BACK AT THE END OF 2022.

JIMMY *IS* A FLORIDA TREASURE AND CHERISHED MEMBER OF OUR TEAM. I SAY *IS* BECAUSE HE WILL STILL BE SHARING HIS THOUGHTS FROM TIME TO TIME DURING SOUTH FLORIDA’S FIRST NEWS AND I COULDN’T BE HAPPIER.

WHEN I FIRST MOVED TO SOUTH FLORIDA BACK IN THE 90S AS A T-V REPORTER FOR CHANNEL 4 THERE WAS A LOT OF FLASH AND TRASH ON T-V NEWS. WE ALL TALKED FAST AND WALKED FASTER. 

BUT JIMMY WAS ALWAYS THE GENTLEMAN ON THE AIR EVEN IF YOU WEREN’T A HUGE SPORTS FAN, YOU STOPPED AND LISTENED TO WHAT HE WAS SAYING, AND *HOW* HE WAS SAYING IT JIMMY MADE WHATEVER HE WAS TALKING ABOUT INTERESTING. FOR YEARS ON T-V, AND FOR MANY MORE YEARS RIGHT HERE ON W-I-O-D. TO JIMMY, WE SAY ‘THANK YOU’ FOR ALL THAT YOU’VE DONE FOR OUR AUDIENCE AND OUR BIG SOUTH FLORIDA COMMUNITY. AND WE ARE SO GLAD YOU ARE STICKING AROUND. AND REMAIN THE VOICE OF THE DOLPHINS. 

MY GOAL IS TO BRING YOU THE NEWS. THE STUFF THAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT. EVEN IF YOU SPEND JUST A FEW MINUTES WITH US IN THE MORNING, I WANT YOU TO KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING. WHAT YOUR COWORKERS ARE TALKING ABOUT ABOUT ON YOUR ZOOM CALL… MAYBE WHAT YOUR KIDS ARE TALKING ABOUT… (ALTHOUGH MY KIDS CONSTANTLY TELL ME THAT I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT KIDS ARE TALKING ABOUT!) 

FOR THE PAST DECADE OR SO, I HAVE LARGELY STEPPED AWAY FROM BROADCASTING… I HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH TRAUMA VICTIMS, HELPING THEM BETTER COMMUNICATE WHAT THEIR LIVES ARE LIKE AFTER A HORRIBLE INCIDENT OR INJURY… THAT WORK HAS MADE ME A BETTER REPORTER… INTIMATELY UNDERSTANDING THE CHALLENGES THAT SO MANY FACE EVERY DAY… THE STORIES THAT TRULY MATTER… 

HELPING ME TELL THOSE STORIES NOW,MY FRIENDS – AND I DO MEAN FRIENDS – WILL ALTHOFF, NATHALIE RODRIQUEZ, AND STEPHEN CHAMBERLAIN. WILL AND NATHALIE ARE NEWS PROS. I FEEL LIKE I’VE KNOWN NATHALIE FOREVER AND AS IT TURNS OUT, WILL AND I BOTH GREW UP MILES FROM EACH OTHER OUTSIDE OF PHILLY. 

STEPHEN CHAMBERLAIN IS AN AWESOME PRODUCER. I’VE BEEN BLOWN AWAY BY HIS TALENT OVER THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS AND CAN’T WAIT FOR ALL OF YOU TO HEAR WHAT HE DOES ON THE AIR, AND OFF.

AND I KNOW MANY OF YOU ARE ASKING, “WHAT ABOUT MANNY?” MANNY GOT HIS OWN SHOW. I’VE KNOWN MANNY FOR MORE THAN A DECADE AND LIKE MANY OF YOU, I AM SO EXCITED FOR HIM. HE’LL BE ON AT 10 EVERY DAY. HE AND I HAD LUNCH JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT HIS SHOW IS GOING TO BE GREAT.

SO WELCOME TO THE EVOLUTION OF SOUTH FLORIDA’S FIRST NEWS