Joel Oxley, general manager of WTOP who was “ahead of the curve,” to retire

Joel Oxley, president and general manager of WTOP and Federal News Network, announced that he will retire later this year. 

According to WTOP, Oxley spent roughly 30 minutes at a staff meeting “praising the leadership, creativity and journalistic contributions of each of the 25 employees who are marking milestones this year — 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years of work.

“It’s part of his annual tradition to celebrate our colleagues’ work anniversaries at WTOP, Federal News Network or 2060 Digital.

“But the final anniversary Oxley announced was his own; he shared plans to retire after nearly 35 years with the company, including 28 years as general manager.”

“Because we are doing well, and because the best time to make changes is when you are doing well, and because I’m flipping 65,” Oxley said. “I’ve decided it’s time for me to hang up my cleats and retire and move on to the next thing, next chapter of my life.”

“He is a Media Hall of Famer,” WTOP Afternoon Drive Anchor Shawn Anderson said. “The record of being so successful for so long in this industry, the run he’s had is just astounding.”

Anderson said that success has partially come from Oxley’s “ability to be ahead of the curve.”

Accordingf to WTOP, “evidence of that forward-thinking includes moving WTOP’s main signal from 1500AM to 103.5FM, bringing traffic coverage in-house and investing in digital journalism, including WTOP.com and FNN.com.”

“When Joel started as general manager, we as a radio station, had trouble cracking the Top 10 in the ratings,” Anderson said. “It took a couple of years to get to the point where we were No. 1, but we’ve been the dominant radio station in Washington for this century, and he has kept us there the whole time.”