Pittsburgh Radio: Lynne Hayes-Freeland EXITS KDKA-AM Show

Lynne Hayes-Freeland

For longtime KDKA-TV and KDKA Radio journalist Lynne Hayes-Freeland, storytelling is the most satisfying part of her job.

“Nothing beats telling a good story,” she told the Post-Gazette. “Nothing beats telling a compelling story. I think that’s universal, whether it’s radio or television or print or a podcast. To be able to tell a good story and have the person whose story it is come back to you the next day and say, ‘Thank you, you captured my story,’ that’s the most rewarding part of it.”

The 66-year-old Hayes-Freeland has been telling stories since 1976 when she started at KDKA Radio as a producer for Roy Fox’s evening talk show while still a student at Duquesne University. A year later, she moved to KDKA-TV and stayed there until December 2018 when she became the first Black woman to to be a full-time talk show host at KDKA Radio in the station’s 100-year history. She has been hosting a noon-3 p.m. show daily since January 2019.

After nearly three years in that role, Hayes-Freeland is preparing to step down. Her last day as a full-timer will be Nov. 12, although she will stay on in various other capacities. She said it was time to step back from the grind of hosting a daily radio program.

Her new responsibilities with the station will include appearing on KDKA Radio once a week for a one-hour discussion with host Marty Griffin; a weekly column on kdkaradio.com; becoming a bigger part of KDKA’s social media presence; and continuing her monthly hosting duties on “Minority Health Matters,” a program KDKA does in cooperation with Gateway Medical Society, a Pittsburgh-based organization dedicated to combatting racial disparities in health care.

“Lynne’s career in the Pittsburgh media needs no comment from me,” said Michael Spacciapolli, senior vice president and market manager for KDKA Radio’s owner, Audacy Pittsburgh. “Simply said, she is an icon in the city and a pillar of the community. We have been fortunate to have her be such a large part of KDKA the past three years and are more than thrilled she will continue on the radio station as she transitions to this next phase of her life.”