Tom Trowbridge (1958-2021): From KUNM to KSFR – News Tom’s Way
by former KUNM Production Director Paul Ingles
We lost another radio colleague in March of 2021. Tom Trowbridge, 62, who
for many years while I was employed at KUNM, was the Morning Edition local
news host. Tom was always first-class friendly to me, and was passionate
about the news mission. When he wound up leaving KUNM, he landed later at
KSFR in Santa Fe and did really good work covering state government.
Tom had an old-school way of delivering the news, with well-rounded vowels
and hard consonants so clear that any one listening would hear every word.
Tom Trowbridge
Courtesy: KSFR
No “what did he say” in a Tom Trowbridge newscast.
Tom was also devoted to his two kids, the road rights for bicyclists (he
was an avid one himself), and his sometimes surprisingly hip taste in
music. When Prince died in 2016 and I put out a call for fan
remembrances, Tom stepped up and recorded his memories of driving from Los
Alamos to Santa Fe to buy Prince’s early albums and talked about some of
his favorite tunes for my show.
Tom was a traditionalist as a defender for news time at the stations he
worked at, and he could rankle some with his insistence that stations take
the news mission seriously, but he was always cordial and good-natured
with me.
We bonded one time at the station when his blood sugar dropped one morning
and he blanked out for what seemed like a long time. I was a witness to
the event and about the only one in the station at the time. I felt
pretty helpless about what to do, just setting him down on a ratty couch
we had in the hallway outside the newsroom. I called 9-1-1 and he came to
on his own right after the paramedics arrived. Whew!
I sadly can’t recall the last time I saw Tom after he left KUNM, but we
corresponded and talked once in awhile. He called me out of the blue one
time fairly recently when I was out on a walk on a nice day and we had a
good catch-up conversation…each promising we’d see each other if I were
in Santa Fe or he in Albuquerque. COVID kinda squashed that plan but I
relish the lengthy final call.
Good thoughts to his partner Polly and his kids Sam and Zach. Thanks Tom
for being our newsman!
