Francene Cucinello, self described as “a proud product of St. Elizabeth’s School in Wyckoff”, died January 15th at the age of 43. Her adopted hometown of Lousiville, Kentucky mourns her death as her popular radio show has now been silenced. Her career in broadcasting extended over the years through Ohio, Maryland, and North Carolina.
While not a nationally recognized name, in the industry she was well known and respected for her intelligence, professionalism and compassion, and so her sudden death reverberates throughout the country.
As host of the Francene Show, she interviewed politicians at all levels, and she spoke frankly and honestly with them to create an open debate. It served her listeners and her country well. Gov. Steve Beshear and U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell are just two political leaders who have publicly expressed their sorrow and offered condolences at Francene’s passing.
The television news industry has moved closer to the entertainment industry, and the passing of a reporter who continued to put integrity above all else is felt ever more strongly. Francene’s career encompassed all media- radio, television, and the printed word. She wrote in a 2007 article,
“…I was blessed to work in a newsroom run by Al Tompkins, now part of the distinguished faculty at the Poynter Institute. Al’s mantra has always been “minimize harm.” He routinely discussed ethics and newsgathering tactics. Unfortunately, this kind of journalistic integrity is a stretch for the majority of newsrooms across the country. But have our standards deteriorated so much that sound bites have become more important than the people who utter them?”
News reports of Francene’s passing describe her as a New Jersey native, and she refers to her childhood in Wyckoff in more than one article. Perhaps the most touching is also the most relevant. The passage below is from an article entitled The Life That Jack Built written in 2007.
“My grandfather always said, “You never know when your number is up.” His number was 95. My father’s was 68.
When I was a little girl, my father and I used to go to the Wyckoff Bakery every Sunday after mass to pick up pastries and The New York Times to bring home to my mother and sister. He’d let me pull a flimsy paper tab out of the ticket counter, and we’d stand waiting for our number to flash up in red lights and be called by one of the counter girls who would take our order. That’s how I always envisioned it – waiting for your number to come up.
Looking back, that simple weekly routine—changed only slightly when I got to pick an iced gingerbread cookie shaped like Snoopy—was one of the loveliest family traditions I remember. Of course, I didn’t appreciate it back then.
I try to notice the little things in life a lot more now. Several years ago, a terrible trifecta of events caused me to seriously consider my death. I concluded that I wasn’t afraid to die. I was afraid that I would die realizing I hadn’t lived. I made some changes. Big and small. I made a conscious decision to make more of my life and live it fully, boldly and adventurously. And I try to be cognizant of the fact that it’s all too easy to slip into patterns of complacency and ambivalence and let life pass numbly and nonchalantly by.”
Readers can visit http://www.francene.net/ where there are video selections of work in television and articles from magazines and newspapers.
The video selection below is from a story the details with a baby photographer who is also called upon to photograph stillbirths.
