By RODNEY HO, originally filed Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Frank Ski has joined CBS Atlanta’s “Just a Minute” team of commentators.

His first commentary has not been scheduled but he is familiar with the format. He did some 11 Alive commentaries a few years back dubbed “I’m Just Sayin’ “

He’s scooping up jobs. He recently joined Bounce TV as a contributor. And the former V-103 morning host made a big splash last month re-joining his old radio station, now on weekends.

Ski will join an existing team such as former 11 Alive journalist Mark Pettit, commentator and humorist Hollis Gillespie, former Channel 2 Action News reporter Sally Sears (now also an investigative reporter), former Fox 5 and 11 Alive anchor Ken Watts, GPB’s Bill Nigut and former columnist and civil rights leader Tom Houck. (The entire list is here.)

Former Fox 5 anchor Amanda Davis remains on the “Just a Minute” team but has yet to air one after a DUI last year scuttled her introduction. CBS Atlanta has left the door open for her to return whenever she is ready and I hear she is now ready to be back on air.

“Just a Minute” was the brainchild of GM Mark Pimental. He debuted the segment last year, which airs right before 6 p.m. Archives are available online.

***

Channel 2 Action News weekend anchor Matt Belanger has left the station after about a year. WSB spokesman Steve Riley confirmed his departure but had no further comment.  Belanger started a new Twitter page on April 28.

***

Kiss 104.1’s Flashback Festival is in its 21st year, having brought a raft of classic R&B artists from the Whispers to Chaka Khan.

This year is no exception: acts include Parliament Funkadelic and George Clinton, The Original Lakeside and A Taste of Honey.

It will again be at Lakewood Amphitheatre on August 6. Tickets are available here for as little as $17 apiece.

My colleague Melissa Ruggieri reported while I was on vacation about the acts for Hot 107.9’s Birthday Bash at Philips Arena June 18 including T.I., Young Jeezy, Kevin Gates and Rich Homie Quan.

Tickets ranges from $10.97 to $189.

Kiss and WSB are both part of Cox Media Group, which also includes the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Amanda Davis, after multiple DUIs, proclaimed she is an alcoholic on CBS Atlanta. CREDIT: Fox 5

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Friday, May 13, 2016

Former Fox 5 anchor Amanda Davis admitted on CBS Atlanta that she is an alcoholic.

She did so in a teaser today for a report that will air Tuesday, May 17 at 11 p.m.

Davis has been arrested at least three times over the years for charges of driving while intoxicated. The 2013 incident in which she hit a car while driving down a one-way street led to her awkward departure at Fox 5. (In that case, she was ultimately deemed not guilty.)

Last year, on the weekend before her return on broadcast TV for CBS Atlanta, she was pulled over yet again and arrested for a DUI. Soon after, she went into rehab last summer and received probation and community service.

CBS Atlanta last year had hired Davis as part of a rotating group of commentators – mostly former journalists – in something called “Just a Minute.” She had already pre-taped her first commentary when she was arrested. She chose to take some time off. CBS said she was welcome to come back when she was ready.

In a dramatic 30-second teaser, her body swathed in light with a dark background, she announces, “I’m Amanda Davis. I’m an alcoholic.” Then the following words pop up: “DUI arrests,” “depression,” “life spiraling out of control,” “rock bottom,” “denial,” “faith.”

The special report is entitled “Amanda Davis: In Her Own Words.”

Davis, who worked at Fox 5 for more than 26 years, has never publicly admitted to alcoholism before or discussed her problem in any fashion. She has never returned my calls or been willing to talk to me over the years.

Amanda Davis, in a special first-person report on CBS 46, talked about her struggles with depression and alcohol on Tuesday, May 17, 2016. CREDIT: CBS 46

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Veteran TV anchor Amanda Davis returned on air for the first time in three years on CBS 46 Tuesday night to discuss her struggles with alcohol and depression, including the drunk driving incident that contributed to her departure from Fox 5. The report was one of three that will air Tuesday through Thursday during the 11 p.m. news.

She opened with a statement of faith:

I’m here by the grace of God. I’m responsible for everything that’s happened to me. I offer no excuses. This is what I know. God takes care of me. Family and friends love me. And I got some much needed help. I have one reason to do this now. I hope sharing my journey will help someone else.

Davis said her drinking problem really began six years ago after a failed engagement that caused her self esteem to plummet. (She had a DUI more than 20 years ago as well.) She also felt at the time like Fox 5 was getting ready to send her to pasture now that she was in her 50s. “I knew how the industry operated,” she said. “Women don’t get to age on TV. They’re replaced by younger, prettier ones.”

While viewers saw Davis as a confident, self-assured anchor, she felt like a fake “pretending to have it all together when nothing could be further from the truth.”

Davis said she always saw herself as a “social drinker.” “A few friends expressed concern about my drinking,” she said. “I brushed it off.” Her vision of an alcoholic was someone who needed to drink “sun up and sun down.” That wasn’t her.

Dr. Tommie Richardson told Davis in the report: “It doesn’t matter how much you drink or how frequently. If someone is drinking for a certain reason to manage feelings, that’s the most important component.”

Davis said she felt self pity and didn’t realize how truly blessed she was. “My life was spiraling out of control,” she said. “Then it happened. The worst day of my life. I hit rock bottom.”

On November 11, 2012, Davis went to a comedy show with friends. But her friends had loved ones to go home to. She didn’t. So she stopped to get something to eat and drink. On her way home, she hit another vehicle head on driving down the wrong side of the road, injuring the other driver.

“As my car spun out of control,” she said, “I remember feeling terrified but relieved. My secret was out. Someone would hear my cry for help.”

She was arrested, charged with reckless driving and DUI. At the time, she realized her life would change forever. (Later, those charges were dropped but she now acknowledges she was under the influence.)

At this point, part one of her report ended and anchors Ben Swann and Sharon Reed asked her some questions.

She told them that drinking was a way to numb her pain. “If I had too many, I got to the point where I was happy,” she said. “I was having fun. I didn’t know to stop. That was the problem. I couldn’t stop once I started.”

Davis, who spent 26 years working at WAGA-TV until 2013, said she decided to finally publicize her ordeal so others might be inspired to get help themselves.

“I have no excuse for drinking and getting behind the wheel,” she told the anchors. “I was wrong… There is no forgiving that.”

Though she didn’t say it, this “coming out” moment is also a way to re-introduce Davis to the public and lay the groundwork for possible full-time work at CBS 46.

Last year, CBS 46 placed her on its “Just a Minute” commentary crew team, packed with former journalists willing to express their opinions a minute at a time. Last summer, she was supposed to debut on the station but was arrested for another DUI. She took a leave of absence before she had even been on and went to rehab. She ultimately received probation

The three videos will all post on www.cbs46.com on Friday afternoon, WGCL-TV creative services director Jeff Holub told me.

Sharon Reed and Ben Swann introduce part two of Amanda Davis’ story on May 18, 2016. CREDIT: CBS46

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Thursday, May 19, 2016

In her second part of a three-part series on CBS46 about her alcoholism and depression, former Fox 5 anchor Amanda Davis related how she was able to turn denial about her addiction into acceptance.

She started off about her car accident in November 12, 2012, the head-on collision that hurt another person. “My car didn’t just spin out of control,” she intoned, “my life went along right with it.”

Davis spent two months hiding in bed, filled with shame and guilt. She met with a psychiatrist Tommie Richardson and was diagnosed with clinical depression. For a moment, she felt better because she could see “light in that dark tunnel.” But then anxiety took over. “There’s the stigma,” she said. “I got to keep this quiet.”

A summary of part one of her report from Tuesday.

She repeated what she said Tuesday night: she didn’t think she had a drinking problem. She just thought she had “a low tolerance” for alcohol.

Davis returned to church and reconnected with God and her Christian faith, attending Cascade UMC. She received therapy for her depression. She retired from Fox 5 after 26 years. She was acquitted of her DUI. “I found new purpose,” she said, “new support and love. Things were looking up. I thanked God.”

Last June, CBS46 gave her an opportunity to return to TV with its “Just a Minute” commentaries. The night before her first commentary was to air, she decided to celebrate, going out to watch an NBA championship with friends. But on her way home, “blue lights came on. It finally clicked. I’ve got a problem. I said it. I knew I had to get help. But first, I would have to face the public again. And there was no one to blame but myself.”

She then spoke with anchors Sharon Reed and Ben Swann again live. She felt she was turning her life around but hadn’t dealt with some underlying issues.

“I never confronted the feelings that were hurting me,” Davis told them. “I was very upset about the break up” from a long engagement. She didn’t focus on the bad parts of that relationship, just what might have been.”

She said she fought her second DUI from 2012 because she didn’t think she had a problem at the time. (Her first one was from the early 1990s.) “I was trying to protect myself,” she said.

But Davis said she owned up to her third DUI. “I plead guilty,” she said, receiving probation and community service. “I took my punishment. I take full responsibility.”

She said she also had to get over the shame and the disapproval of the public.

“There are enough people to point fingers at you and say you’re a bad person. You’re the one who has to live with yourself,” she said.

When asked if she would ever drink again, she honestly answered that she didn’t know. “I know I can’t drink normally,” she said. “There’s nothing wrong per se with alcohol. It’s legal. It’s only the abuse of alcohol that’s the problem. People relapse all the time. I don’t plan to relapse. But if I do stumble, I know how to get back and start over. And I feel good about it. And I know I have friends and family and most importantly, I have God on my side. I know I’m going to be okay. And being an alcoholic is not all that I am. There is so much more to me.”

Part three will air Thursday during the 11 p.m. news. She will talk about her treatment last year and how valuable her mother and daughter are to her.

The videos will be available online on Friday.

She spoke with Ryan Cameron, Wanda Smith and Maria Boynton yesterday morning. At the five-minute point, Wanda especially goes deep with Amanda about her addiction.

Ryan Cameron, Wanda Smith and Jim Basile at the 11 Alive Can-A-Thon in 2014. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Thursday, May 19, 2016

Someone today just pointed out a video on V-103 yesterday morning of Amanda Davis promoting her CBS46 three-part first-person piece about her alcohol addiction and depression.

What made it especially interesting was Wanda Smith, V-103 morning host, who is known for “keeping it real.” She confronted Davis pretty pointedly about her issues in what Smith described as “tough love.”

“I was one of those people who was very very very upset with you,” she said to Davis. She was psyched to hear Davis coming back to TV last year but dismayed when she heard about Davis’ third DUI. “I was really mad with you because I felt that you had chance after chance after chance and I’m thinking to myself, ‘This is a very smart lady. Very smart lady.’ And I didn’t understand the part that you didn’t go and get the help but you let us on that you were going back to work and everything was fine. But that just wasn’t the case.”

Davis said “denial” was a big part of her addiction, that she thought she could “control” her alcohol. But “that’s not the case. And until your risks outweigh the benefits of drinking, you may not ever realize it.” She noted that genetics and mental illness contribute to alcoholism. “Drinking is a symptom of another problem. I came to find out I was depressed.”

Then Smith goes back to Davis’ visit last June to V-103 studios to talk about her return on air at CBS46 last June.

“But remember the morning you sat in here… When you left here, I looked at Ryan, I said, ‘I think Amanda was a little toasty this morning.’ In my heart, I looked in your eyes. You were happy but I felt like you were drinking that morning. That’s when I got angry, I got upset. They keep giving her chance after chance.”

This is when you could tell Davis was taken aback by the accusation.

“I have never been on the air or made a public appearance after drinking,” Davis said. “That’s not the drinker I am. I care too much about my job to jeopardize it in that way. This job is hard enough and stressful enough to be under the influence trying to pull that off. So I don’t know how you got that impression.”

“Secondly, you said I got chance after chance,” Davis said. “Umm… no, I didn’t. I got one chance after the first DUI in the 1990s. And then I retired in 2013 and Channel 46 called me in 2015. So I didn’t get chance after chance. As I mentioned, I wasn’t aware I had a problem or to acknowledge or ask for help. It wasn’t until the third DUI and those lights came on and it clicked in my head I had a problem.”

Here’s the video:

In the third segment, Davis told Maria Boynton that nobody can tell you that you have a problem. “It has to click in you,” she said.

Boynton said she noticed Davis was uncomfortable on set five years ago. Davis said her personal life at the time was a wreck after a ruined engagement. “To mask my hurt feelings, I began drinking more. Because I was alone, I drank more,” she told Boynton.

A caller then defended Davis regarding Smith’s questioning.

“Alcoholism is a disease,” the caller said. “You can’t expect someone to tell them something they can’t tell themselves.

Smith: “I understand it’s an addiction and it is denial. I guess I look for people who get in trouble one time and then again, I have to ask someone for help.”

The caller: “You have to realize you need help to ask for help. Sometimes, that takes time.”

Davis: “For me, it took a third DUI… Also in the interim, I went back to church and I had that healing take place in my life… It’s not a cookie cutter situation. Everybody is different.”

“I love her, too,” Smith said. “That’s why I’m hurt. I want the best for her. I love Amanda. It’s like my sister in this business. It’s my job to say, ‘If you need me, come tell us.’ I saw her that morning. I was so happy for her to have her job back… It’s tough love. I want her to do well.”

Davis said that her goal isn’t to get back on air for a full-time job. “That’s not in the conversation,” she said. “I just wanted to share this.”

The third part airs tonight at 11 p.m. on CBS46 and all the videos will be online tomorrow at www.cbs46.com.

Amanda Davis talks about her treatment and recovery since her third DUI last June. CREDIT: CBS46

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Thursday, May 19, 2016

Former Fox 5 anchor Amanda Davis concluded her three-part CBS46 series tonight on a happier note. She’s in recovery from alcohol addiction and has been sober for 11 months.

She voluntarily checked into a rehab treatment center in California last summer after her third DUI. “I learned I wasn’t alone,” she said.

She noted that her favorite two alcoholic options were rum and coke and vodka and cranberry juice.

Milllions have alcohol addiction. It’s more common than opiate addiction, which is being talked about a lot nowadays after Prince’s recent death.

“There are a tremendous number of closet alcoholics,” said Steven Lynn, a Smyrna psychiatrist in the segment.

She noted that there’s a pleasure center in the brain that alcohol feeds on. For alcoholics, the switch is always on. Alcoholics don’t know when to stop. Lynn notes that the addiction “doesn’t disappear because the underlying problems are resolved.”

He also said it’s not easy to recover. Relapse is common. But there are plenty of support groups, notably Alcoholics Anonymous.

Davis said she was also treated for depression. “I got to the root of my depression, that heartache. Once I confronted it, I felt liberated.”

Today, she said, “I feel whole again. I’m ready to see what life is in store for me. I’m here to say I fell down. Hard. But I got back up. And that’s the key. I’ve learned no matter what, nothing is insurmountable… As the saying goes, I take things one day at a time and I’ll be okay.”

During the live Q&A, Davis told Ben Swann and Sharon Reed that her greatest regret is hurting her mother and daughter. They live outside of Georgia but were impacted by her problems. She said now their relationships are better, without getting into specifics.

She said there are some tests to see if you have an alcohol problem. You may have one if you answer yes to two of these four questions:

1. Have you ever tried to control your drinking?
2. Have you been annoyed when someone says something about your drinking?
3. Have you ever felt guilty when you know you’ve been drinking too much?
4. Do you get a drink to get over a hangover.

“Alcoholism is more insidious than drug addiction because it affects so many organs in your body,” Davis said. “It kills more than opiates.” And it’s easily accessible.

She said she is aware of two treatments: harm reduction and abstinence. She chose the latter. “It’s a little hard when your off switch is broken,” she said.

All three videos will be on www.cbs46.com Friday.

Shiba Russell last worked at WNBC-TV in New York but will join Vinnie Politan in mornings at 11 Alive starting in July, 2016. CREDIT: WXIA-TV

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Friday, May 20, 2016

Shiba Russell will be added to the 11 Alive morning line-up for “Atlanta Alive” in July.

She will be joining Vinnie Politan, Jaye Watson, traffic guy Crash Clark and meteorologist Chesley McNeil.

Fellow traffic guy Fred McFarlin’s name was absent from the press release. I am awaiting a response from the NBC affiliate about his future.

Russell, who grew up in New Jersey, came from WNBC-TV, where she had been co-anchor of the noon and 5:30 p.m. weekday newscasts until February. Her previous stints were with Neighorhood News 12 on Long Island, WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh, and WCVB-TV in Boston.

“Shiba brings extensive journalistic experience to the team as a field reporter and anchor in the country’s largest market covering some of the biggest stories in the last several years,” said 11Alive News Director Jennifer Rigby in the press release. “She is the perfect addition to our Atlanta Alive morning team and together with Vinnie, Chesley, Crash and Jaye, they will deliver the information you need, a great dose of energy and always some motivation to help get your day off to the right start.”

According to TVSpy in February:

At one time, Russell was a rising star at WNBC, replacing longtime anchor Sue Simmons when she left in 2012, only to be pushed out by Sibila Vargas‘ arrival from Los Angeles in 2014.

I grew up in New York in the 1980s and remember Simmons and her co-anchor Chuck Scarborough. They were together for more than 30 years.

Another blog speculated that Russell and Scarborough lacked chemistry.

The opening of the final segment of Amanda Davis’ unusual three-part series about her own life. CREDIT: CBS46

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Friday, May 20, 2016

Veteran TV anchor Amanda Davis gave CBS46 a major ratings lift for at least one night as she dug deep about her depression and alcoholism.

The impact was greatest on Tuesday, the first day of her three-day series. That night, the 11 p.m. news on the CBS affiliate drew a 4.2 rating, more than double the 1.8 rating the station had received in May up to that point.

That’s more than 150,000 people in metro Atlanta.

I forgot to ask for the ratings of the other broadcast networks so I don’t know where the affiliate ranked each night but CBS46 news director Larry Perret said via email that the station did hit No. 1 on Tuesday in overall viewers.

Gracie Bond Staples’ interview with Davis

A summary of part one

A summary of part two

A summary of part three

The CBS46 Davis videos now in archive

Among the target 25-to-54 viewership audience, CBS saw a more than quadruple increase in ratings. After averaging a 0.5 rating in May through May 16, the Davis piece drew a much stronger 2.2 Tuesday.

CBS 46’s promotions department created an effective promotional teaser video, which featured Davis announcing she was an alcoholic with haunting music and words like “denial” and “rock bottom” popping up. More than 400,000 people saw the video on Facebook by the time Tuesday rolled around and it eventually passed 1 million.

The station’s 11 p.m. news is its strongest in terms of audience, often beating the third-place newscast at 11 Alive. (CBS46 generally runs in fourth place most other time slots but has been aggressively promoting its evening anchors Sharon Reed and Ben Swann on billboards around town. )

On Wednesday, after the “Survivor” season finale, CBS’s 11 p.m. news drew half the audience from Tuesday. Her second part helped attract a 2.2 rating overall and a 0.6 among 25-54 year olds.

On Thursday, after a very weak “Rush Hour” performance at 10 p.m., CBS’s 11 p.m. newscast and Davis’ final segment brought in numbers much closer to the network average: 2.1 rating for all viewers and 0.4 among 25-54.

Frank Volpicella takes over as new news director at CBS46.

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Larry Perret has been replaced as news director at CBS46, the perpetual fourth-place performer in the market.

Perret lasted 20 months. That isn’t a lengthy tenure but on par with his two predecessors Lane Michaelson (15 months, April, 2013- July, 2014) and Eric Ludgood (22 months, March, 2011-January 2013). Before them were Steve Schwaid (two years, 10 months, May, 2008-March, 2011) and Rick Erbach (three years, four months, January 2005-May 2008).

In a memo sent to employees today, GM Mark Pimentel wrote, in passive tense: “The decision has been made that to continue moving forward, a change is needed in newsroom management.”

Senior executive producer Leesa Dillon was cut as well.

Perret’s replacement is Frank Volpicella, who has been a news director at the ABC affiliate KVUE-TV in Austin for nearly 16 years until last month. As part of Tegna, Volpicella took a system-wide early retirement package, the same one 15 11 Alive (WXIA-TV) employees also nabbed last month, including Kevin Rowson, Keith Whitney and Donna Lowry.

Volpicella will be CBS46’s sixth news director since 2008. He starts July 11.

He and Pimentel worked together in the late 1990s at WAFF-TV in Huntsville, Al. when Pimental was GM there and Volpicella was news director. They also both worked at WSB-TV in the late 1980s when both were executive producers. Clearly, they have mutual respect for each other. And Volpicella was reportedly very well liked in Austin.

“Frank is a content and product guy who knows Atlanta well,” Pimentel wrote me. “We have worked with each other twice before and share a vision of successful news products.”

According to the Austin 360 story: 

During Volpicella’s time at KVUE, he was responsible for hiring almost all of the reporters and news anchors on the air today and oversaw newscasts that have received countless awards and have consistently ranked at or near the top of the Austin Nielsen ratings.

“Our station has undergone many changes over the years,” Pimentel wrote in his memo. “I hope you will share the same optimism that I do that the change will continue our forward momentum.”

“We thank Larry Perret and Leesa Dillon for their hard work making the initial improvements that were needed,” he continued. “Larry is headed home to California to be nearer his aging mother. We wish them well.”

Perret has been unable to consistently lift CBS46 out of its perpetual fourth-place doldrums behind Channel 2 Action news, Fox 5 and 11 Alive.

One insider wrote: “He covered himself with layers of management to protect himself… not a great communicator and was reactive instead of proactive… The order of the day was consistently low staffing and high levels of frustration to do the basics in the newsroom.”

The CBS affiliate overhauled much of its staff last year, bringing in a raft of new anchors, reporters and behind-the-scenes crew. A year ago, they introduced their Just a Minute commentary crew, made largely of former journalists and local personalities such as Bill Nigut, Hollis Gillespie and Frank Ski. They created an investigative team and hired well-known names such as Fred Kalil and Karyn Greer, formerly of 11 Alive, and Sally Sears, formerly of WSB.

Recently, they’ve invested in a major billboard campaign touting their evening anchors Sharon Reed and Ben Swann.

The powerful, well-promoted Amanda Davis first-person story earlier this month gave the station a one-night boost but it didn’t last. Their overall May numbers in fact were lower than they were in May, 2015, according to Nielsen data.

The station did garner far more Southeastern Emmy nominations this past month (winners to be named June 11) than it has in recent years.

Brendan Keefe at the recent Peabody ceremonies with Jon Stewart, a man he truly admires. CREDIT: Tegna/special

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Monday, June 6, 2016

Brendan Keefe, chief investigative reporter for 11 Alive, has taken home a prestigious national Peabody Award for his reports about the 911 system, which has been hobbled by antiquated equipment, disjointed management, under-funding and heavier use of cell phones. (The Peabody is overseen by the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism.)

The 911 used to be able to pinpoint exact locations when everyone used landlines. But now 70 to 80 percent of calls come in via cell phone. And cell phone accuracy is far from assured. According to Keefe’s 2015 story, about half of all cell phone calls to 911 don’t allow dispatchers to see the callers’ exact location. Even when a person on the line tells you where they are, 911 can have a difficult time to locate said person in certain situations.

Keefe used a drowning Atlanta  woman Shanell Anderson as an example. She accidentally drove her car into a lake, called 911 and provided the proper address, but the 911 operator couldn’t locate her before she drowned. The 911 call is heart-wrenching as she goes under in the middle of call.

Later, Keefe typed her address into Google maps and it came up in a matter of microseconds. The problem: Anderson wasn’t routed to the proper 911 operator in the proper jurisdiction.

When Keefe found out from the Alpharetta 911 chief that they have trouble every day tracking people down, he realized he had a story. He looked nationwide and found chronic issues all over the country. He said the jurisdictions involved – the FCC, the cell phone carriers and the local 911 centers – ended up just pointing fingers at each other.

His conclusion: 911 gives us a false sense of security. “This has become a huge national crisis,” he said. “What you have is a lack of leadership. Everyone is invested in this current system and they’re unwilling to change it. That’s frustrating…. It even happened to Prince. When someone called, the dispatcher didn’t know where Paisley Park was.”

The NBC affiliate last year ran 10 major broadcast stories, a 30-minute prime-time special and contributed to a national USA Today article on the subject.

The Peabody committee wrote: “For doggedly pursuing a local accident that proved to have national consequence – and for likely saving lives – a Peabody Award goes to 911: Lost on the Line.”

About 18 months have passed since that first story. Keefe is frustrated that wholesale change has yet to happen but the topic has become fodder for other media.

John Oliver on HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” last month did an extensive piece on the subject, using some of Keefe’s source material and video.

“I’ll be honest,” Keefe said. “John Oliver has a bigger megaphone. He reaches a different audience. I’m incredibly appreciative we can get that type of awareness. There is now a broader population that understands 911 can’t always find you. That’s a big public service. It was fun to watch John Oliver take the fruits of our investigation and give it a wider audience.”

The Peabody awards show, which taped in New York May 21, will air tonight on Pivot but Keefe doesn’t expect his acceptance speech will make the cut given that he’s not a big famous name.

While he was talking, he could see Stewart watching him. “Jon Stewart has always had fun showing how stupid local news people can be,” Keefe said. “We create a lot of material. Let’s face it. TV news is broken. So to have him sitting there with a knowing, approving smile was better than winning the award.” He talked to Stewart afterwards and got a picture taken (see above). “I was probably stumbling over myself,” Keefe said. “I’ve watched ‘The Daily Show’ before he was even on it. We talked a lot about TV news and how investigative reporting will be the savior of local TV news.”

Keefe is proud that his work received a unanimous vote from the Peabody committee, beating out two “60 Minutes” pieces. “It really gives you a sense of membership in a very elite club,” he said, noting that it has been at least 17 years since an Atlanta newscast has previously won a Peabody.

“Walter Cronkite once said that you count your Emmys, but you cherish the Peabodys. That really fits,” he said. “They care about stories that matter, that are impactful.”

He continues to do pieces on the subject. Last month, he reported on yet another drowning in another Georgia county that was eerily similar to that of Shanell Anderson. And he recently did his 13th major investigative piece focused on the Atlanta police department.

One piece of good news: a couple of Atlanta inventors came up with an app called LAAser that would make it easier for 911 to locate cell phones that is patent pending.

“There is momentum,” Keefe said. “We need to get his fixed. Again, I would trade my Peabody to bring Shanell back.”

TV PREVIEW

“Peabody Awards,” 8 p.m., Monday, June 6, 2016, Pivot

NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 22: John Oliver attends Tribeca Talks Storytellers: Tom Hanks With John Oliver during the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival at BMCC John Zuccotti Theater on April 22, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Tuesday, June 7, 2016

On John Oliver’s latest missive on his HBO show “Last Week Tonight” Sunday night, he referenced not only “The Walking Dead” – Atlanta’s most popular TV production – but also used a segment of a story by Atlanta consumer expert Clark Howard from Howard’s website. (It’s impossible not to recognize the man’s voice!)

Oliver’s topic was about companies that buy old debt and try to convince folks to pay up, even if the statute of limitations has long passed. These companies buy the debt at pennies on the dollar and often use aggressive (and sometimes illegal) ways to convince consumers to give them cash. One man is shown on the show gleefully describing his tactic of calling the person’s boss and shaming them. Debt collectors have threatened people with death and in one case, killing their dog and eating it.

The comedian played multiple clips of news reporters describing the debt as if they’re zombies, coming back to life long after consumers presumed they were dead and buried. This led, of course, to the inevitable “Walking Dead” jokes:

“Zombies are fun,” Oliver said. “But the comparison is actually quite apt because just like on ‘The Walking Dead,’ zombie debt comes back from the grave, is incredibly hard to deal with and seems to disproportionately impacts minorities.” (He showed a shot of the various minorities killed on the show and the audience groaned knowingly.)

Later, he noted that one strategy debt buyers use s flooding the court system with lawsuits. As Howard notes in a clip: “These companies bank on consumers ignoring the lawsuit, which means they are automatically responsible for the debt.”

Here’s the original report in full:

Glenn Burns had open-heart surgery in the spring but is now working full-time again. CREDIT: WSB-TV

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Tuesday, June 7, 2016

During the 11 p.m. Channel 2 Action News newscast Monday night, chief meteorologist Glenn Burns was doing his weather forecast when he lost his breath for a moment. He threw it back to anchor Jovita Moore and they soon cut to commercial.

A few minutes later, after the commercial break, he told the viewers he felt okay and finished his forecast.

But given that Burns had open-heart surgery three months ago, he sent me a note to explain what had happened:

What happens is that my heart beat goes up for a few seconds.  When you have had major heart surgery, this is a little disconcerting to say the least.  It happens without any warning and when you are on air speaking at the time, that caused me to momentarily lose my breath.  I am fine 20 seconds later.  So last night, this happened and I lost it for 20 seconds and then resumed my weathercast after the commercial break.  I was with my cardiologist at Piedmont for three hours yesterday undergoing a battery of tests to figure out why this was happening. My heart is very healthy.  The valve they replaced is doing amazingly well and is 100% perfect.  The little heart palpation I get just may be a normal part of the healing process.  I am not in any danger.   So that is basically it.  I am told things are perfect.  I am working out better than ever at the gym.  And they say I should be 100% after 8 months to a year.

Details of his actual heart surgery from my original story in March here. 

My interview with Burns a few weeks later. 

WSB-TV and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution are both part of Cox Media Group.

Atlanta native Elle Duncan has joined ESPN SportsCenter May 9. CREDIT: ESPN

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Friday, June 10, 2016

Elle Duncan began her career at ESPN on Monday at 11 a.m. co-hosting “SportsCenter” and her first show went off without a hitch.

The former Atlantan was best known for her time on V-103 before moving to Boston in late 2013 to cover sports full time.

She announced her move in April. 

Here’s how she played it on Instagram:

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Fans watching “Jeopardy” on 11 Alive last Thursday didn’t get to see the results because the network accidentally re-aired the second half of Wednesday’s episode instead. CREDIT: Jeopardy

In a bizarre snafu last Thursday evening, 11 Alive aired the first half of a new episode of “Jeopardy.’ But after a commercial break, the station replayed the second half of Wednesday’s episode.

John Deushane, the general manager, said there was some sort of technical snafu involving a back-up server that has never happened before. He said unfortunately, the network is not allowed to re-air the episode properly. So if you want to know who won and what questions/answers were posed, you’ll have to go here.

Deushane, by the way, was named “Broadcaster of the Year” by the Georgia Association of Broadcasters (GAB) this past Friday. Since he joined WXIA-TV six years ago, the station has won GAB’s Station of the Year four times and multiple Emmys for “Station Excellence.” The station pulled in 25 Emmys this past Saturday.

***

1340/WIFN-AM, known as the Fan 3, is now carrying CBS Sports instead of Fox Sports. It covers the core part of Atlanta for the handful of folks who still listen to that part of the AM dial.

***
Suchita Vadlamani hasn’t lived in Atlanta for many years since she left Fox 5’s “Good Day Atlanta” in 2010. But it appears she has not sold her Atlanta residence – until now. She posted an update on Facebook:

11 Alive took home 25 Emmys this past Saturday. CREDIT: 11 Alive

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Wednesday, June 15, 2016

The NBC affiliate 11 Alive took home the most Emmys at a ceremony in Buckhead Saturday night with 25, including overall excellence. Last year, it won 28.

WXIA-TV’s Brendan Keefe won six Emmys including two for his heralded series on the defects of the 911 system He also pocketed Emmys for an investigate report on ALEC, another about impotence clinics, a third for radioactive concrete and a fourth about hotel security. Reporter Matthew Pearl won two more, adding to his closet full of Emmys that now total 19.

“I have never been someone who judges a journalist’s value by his or her award count,” Pearl wrote me.”I have always said that some of the most impressive people in the newsroom — reporters, photojournalists, and otherwise — rarely get the accolades they deserve because their strengths don’t necessarily translate into awards. So I try not to place too much emphasis on those awards, but I also cherish the ones I have won because I know how difficult they are to obtain. Winning an award in journalism often requires doing something extraordinary — and being chosen over extraordinary competition. Nearly any time I have been nominated for an Emmy, I have been selected alongside someone whose work I admire. I hope they feel the same about me! In short, awards are not why I do what I do, but I certainly appreciate what they represent.”

Channel 2 Action News won 11, including best on-camera anchor (Craig Lucie), best meteorologist (Glenn Burns), best sports talent (Heather Catlin), best morning newscast and news excellence. That’s up from nine a year ago.

“I was completely surprised and didn’t have a speech prepared,” said Lucie, who was competing against 11 Alive’s Brenda Wood and Melissa Long as well as fellow WSBer Jovita Moore. “I was up against the best in the business. It was truly an honor to be recognized for the work that we do…. When the announcer said my name, I was truly blown away.”

Burns, amazingly, had never put his name in for an individual award and after 35 years with WSB, it’s his first individual Emmy.

Left to right: Jodie Fleischer, Josh Wade, Tim McVay, David Mast, Misti Turnbull, Joe Cowan, David Ferebee, Tina Commadore, Donna Lampkin, Jovita Moore, (George Marshalek – eyebrow) Rachel Lebedin, Heather Catlin, Leonard Raglin, Fred Blankenship, Laura Reed, Renee Bottie-Wheeler, Oscar Carillo

Telemundo garnered 14 Emmys vs 9 for Univision.

Georgia Public Broadcasting took home seven, down from 18 in 2015. Public Broadcasting Atlanta brought home one.

CBS46 won five, up from three a year ago.

Fox 5, which has not made the Emmys a priority in recent years, won two Emmys, up from zero in 2015.

Steak Shapiro‘s “Atlanta Eats” videos received four nominations and one win.

The entire list of winners is here.

WSB-TV and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution are both part of Cox Media Group. 

Jeremy Campbell reacts to homophobic comments since the Orlando mass shooting. CREDIT: 11 Alive

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Wednesday, June 15, 2016

The need for celebrities or media figures to officially “come out” is no longer a thing.

It’s often just mentioned in passing and people shrug their shoulders and move on.

But the Orlando mass shooting at a gay nightclub has brought out the homophobes and compelled 11 Alive reporter Jeremy Campbell to pen an essay, “You Know I’m Gay, Right?” (Read it here.)

He was stunned by how nasty people could be about gay people after a tragedy like this.

So he had this to say: “Words matter. Everything you say. Everything you post or comment – it all matters.  Someone sees every thought.  And what you say makes the difference between love and hate.”

In what appears to be unrelated news, Campbell also will be off the air on 11 Alive for awhile. Why? He’s going to work on a big investigative piece for parent company Tegna as part of a new digital investigative unit called “Attticus,” named after the character in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” He won’t say yet what the topic is.

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Thursday, June 23, 2016

Donna Lowry, long-time 11Alive education reporter, has landed on her feet quickly after taking a buyout in April: she will become the new director of communications for Cobb County schools.

She spent 29 years at WXIA-TV with education as her specialty the entire time. By the time 2016 rolled around, she was the only broadcast reporter who focused on that topic.

She decided to take the buyout, along with 14 other 11 Alive employees including Keith Whitney and Kevin Rowson.

Lowry has produced Emmy Award-winning Class Act segments honoring metro Atlanta teachers, as well as Class Notes, which offered a daily glimpse into classrooms.

On vacation, she texted me saying she excited about her new gig, which starts July 20.

The shot Erin Coleman posted on her Facebook page.

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Thursday, June 30, 2016

Channel 2 Action News anchor Erin Coleman today announced she is leaving WSB-TV after seven years.

Pregnant with her second child, she chose to return back to her hometown of Philadelphia where her parents still reside. Friday will be her final day on the air.

In a Facebook post this morning on her public page, she wrote:

Thank you all for watching me, supporting me, tweeting me, liking me… all of the above! I can honestly say, we have some of the best viewers in the country in Atlanta! I’ll still be here for a few months, taking care of a newborn and trying to figure out how to handle two kids under the age of two… yikes! Any suggestions… let me know

“She’s not just a good reporter and anchor but a good person,” said Monica Pearson, long-time anchor at WSB-TV who retired in 2012 but still does specials for the network and a weekend show on Kiss 104.1. “I will miss her terribly. The good news is we have a deep bench to help fill the space.”

Pearson cited other talented women at WSB-TV, including weekend anchor Wendy Corona and new reporters Nerfetiti Jaquez and Nicole Carr.

Coleman currently anchors the 4 p.m. news with Craig Lucie. No word from WSB-TV on a replacement.

She previously worked at TV stations in Jonesboro, Ark., Greensboro, N.C., and Raleigh, N.C.

WSB-TV and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution are both part of Cox Media Group. 

Alyse Eady is coming to Atlanta as an anchor in August. But where? CREDIT: Twitter profile photo

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Monday, July 11, 2016

An Arkansas anchor Alyse Eady announced Monday night that she’s heading to Atlanta as an anchor in August.

She’ll be leaving a Tegna-owned CBS affiliate in Little Rock at the end of the month. An Arkansas news blogger David Glass tipped me about this.

Eady didn’t say what station she’s going to. There are two anchor openings right now. Lisa Rayam recently departed Fox 5. And Erin Coleman just left Channel 2 Action News.

I’ll see if I can figure out which station she may be going to. Who knows? It might be at one of the other stations for all I know. I’ll update this if I hear anything concrete.

She posted this news on her Facebook page:

Crash Clark, Jaye Watson, Vinnie Politan, Shiba Russell and Chesley McNeil. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/ rho@ajc.com

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Shiba Russell is the new kid in town at 11 Alive, joining the Atlanta Alive morning crew earlier this month.

The New Jersey native came from the NBC affiliate in New York WNBC-TV.

I visited her last Friday at 11 Alive studios as her first week on air drew to a close.

“I have to say, this has been the warmest welcome of my career,” said Russell. “The social media department has put together a ‘Welcome Shiba’ campaign. We did an outing at Top Golf to do some team bonding before I was even on the air. The general manager sending me a book about ‘The 100 Places to Go in Atlanta Before You Die.’‘ And writing a note out to me and my daughter before we even landed. And the general manager sent me local stories about the best public schools. It’s something you might expect in smaller market.”

Russell in the video below added a few things about herself:

1. She’s not very tall at 5 foot 1 –  “a little taller than Snookie, a little shorter than Kim Kardashian,”
2. She loves “Real Housewives of Atlanta” and can’t get Sheree Whitfield‘s classic insult “Who gonna check me boo” out of her head.
3. She loves hip-hop and name dropped OutKast‘s Andre 3000 and Jermaine Dupri as well as Kandi Burruss. 
4. She was a competitive swimmer in high school and college
5. She likes to sing and was part of an a cappella group in college.

“I love the heat,” she said. “When I worked in Boston, I wore snow pants every day during the winter. My photographer used to call me ‘shivering Shiba.’ Even here, when I go to a restaurant, I always bring a shawl and a sweater. I get cold very easily. Here, it’s refreshing to go out of a restaurant and it’s warm. It feels like the body is going to live 15 years longer!”

SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE VIDEO

She wasn’t one of those girls who dreamed of being an anchor.

“I was never that kid who watched the news,” she said. “But I took this class senior year of high school. I thought I was going to be a lawyer. I still have the love of the law, which works well with this job because we cover legal cases. I took this senior production class and I got to anchor the news. I remember doing that with my cheerleading outfit on. I also did the announcements in the morning.”

Russell realized she got bored easily and loved writing. And she’s a visual person. “Every day would not be the same,” she said. “I really enjoyed it.”

In college, she wasn’t sure whether she would be behind the camera or in front of the camera. Sh majored in communications at College of New Rochelle. Through internships at WCBS, WPIX, BronxNet and a hip-hop magazine, she clarified what she wanted to do and decided she wanted to be on camera.

She attended Northwestern graduate school. “That program kicked my tail,” she said. She reported for two stations while in D.C. Her first job was at News 12  on Long Island, followed soon after at News 12 in the Bronx.

Russell enjoyed on-the-ground reporting in the Bronx. “I liked to speak for the little people,” she said. She later worked in Pittsburgh and Boston before going to New York.

This is her first job in the South though her father is from North Carolina, so she picked plenty of Southernisms as a child.

“I saw ‘easy peasy.’ I say ‘bless your heart.’ I say ‘y’all’ sometimes,” Russell said.

She hopes to do some investigative work on top of her anchoring work. “My passion is long-form journalism,” she said.

This is my Facebook Live interview with the entire cast.

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Tuesday, July 12, 2016

FTVLive earlier today posted three Facebook rants by an Emmy-winning CBS46 photojournalist Charles Beau Menefee in which he insulted the Black Lives Matter movement, calling them “unevolved, uncivilized turds” and wondering if the protesters could be boxed in and bombed.

In fact, he wished death upon members of the group at least twice.

Mark Pimental, general manager at CBS46, said Menefee has been fired, sending me a note informing the staff of his departure with his employee photo included.

I redacted the obvious curse word…

Menefee had previously worked at 11Alive (WXIA-TV). He was nominated for a 2015 Emmy for Ferguson coverage in the category of “General Assignment Report Within 24 Hours” with Matthew Pearl but did not win. (One employee at 11Alive told me the station beefed up security today after the station heard he had lost his job at WGCL-TV. Interpret that as you will.)

In 2012, when Menefee worked at the CBS affiliate WTVR-TV in Richmond, VA, he won an Emmy for best investigative report with Catie Beck.

This is unlikely to help his career, but he had a reel of his work on YouTube from 2013, which was taken down soon after I posted it: