After being charged with DUI and reckless driving in November, 2012, former Fox 5 anchor Amanda Davis was cleared of those charges Friday in Fulton County court today.

A Fulton County judge cleared Amanda Davis of the most serious charges related to a vehicular accident she was in in November, 2012. CREDIT: Fox 5

Channel 2 Action News was there.

On November 11, 2012, Davis was allegedly driving southbound in the northbound lane and her vehicle crashed into another vehicle, injuring that driver. She was arrested and charged with DUI, reckless driving and failure to maintain lane.

Today, she was found guilty only of failure to maintain lane. She was fined $200 and told to do 20 hours of community service.

Davis, who was at WAGA-TV for 26 years, was taken off the air and retired the following April. The retirement was not voluntary. She has not commented about her situation since it happened. (I last wrote about the case in November here.)

Her attorney William Head has not returned a call and email seeking comment. Head said she is not planning to release a statement and he himself declined to comment as well.

George Stein, an attorney in town who specializes in DUIs, is not familiar with the details of this particular case but said in situations where the primary charges are dropped and only a moving violation remains, the defendant typically is fined and sometimes given community service. That is exactly what happened to Davis.

In Stein’s mind, given the circumstances, Fox 5 “should really reconsider and take a look at rehiring her. She is an experienced, talented broadcaster.” (Fox 5 has since hired Cynne Simpson to replace Davis.) A Fox spokeswoman had no comment but the network did post the news on its website.

Former Fox 5 reporter Brett Martin said he doubts Fox 5 would take her back but thinks CBS Atlanta might be interested, given her brand equity in the market. “I hope she is on the road of sobriety and takes it one day at a time. She has made some mistakes in her life dealing with substance abuse. She needs to address that.” Also, he wonders if Fox 5 was right in letting her go in the first place, he noted.

David Jarman, the man whose vehicle she hit, filed a civil lawsuit against her last June seeking compensation for medical costs related to injuries he suffered from the accident. The attorneys representing his case have not yet returned calls to discuss how the criminal case will affect their lawsuit.

The Weather Channel provides plenty of warnings today about the forthcoming storm it dubs Pax.

While things are not quite crazy yet, the local TV news stations and the Weather Channel are prepping for the worst, with anchors and meteorologists using words like potentially “catastrophic” and “devastating” for the forthcoming ice storm.

The massive ice/snow traffic jam of two weeks ago made for compelling visuals in terms of absurd tie ups and was relatively unexpected, which made for great TV. Plus, people didn’t lose power so everyone got to watch if they weren’t stuck on the roads.

This time around, no matter how severe it becomes, coverage will be more conventional. We’ve had plenty of forewarning. People have emptied the bread aisles at Publix, bought out wood for their fireplaces and filled their gas tanks. Virtually everything will be closed tomorrow. Only idiots will voluntarily be on the roads Wednesday.

And if people do lose their electricity, TV doesn’t get much ratings benefit.

TV meteorologists and reporters today are noting that things aren’t too bad right now, but life will start getting rough starting overnight. “This is not a system to be taken lightly,” said meteorologist Joanne Feldman at Fox 5 at 1:52 p.m., preempting “TMZ Live.” “You might just want to stay home. Hunker down. Stay safe and do your best to stay warm.”

With not much going on, the four local broadcast networks with news staffs were airing regular programs as of 2 p.m.

At 3 p.m., both Channel 2 Action news and Fox 5 chose to run Gov. Nathan Deal’s press conference live, preempting “Katie” and “Steve Harvey,” respectively. 11 Alive chose to stay with the Olympics while CBS Atlanta kept ‘The Young and the Restless” on.

Mike Dreaden, news director at Channel 2, sent me this note, after I asked if they’d be bringing back the screen with 25 reporters on it like they did two weeks ago:

We can do better than 25 Rodney! J  However, this time around we’ve got the staff working 12 on/12 off shifts and we’re covering overnights with more people than usual…so people are spread out across the day.  Still, we’ll have 20 reporters in the 6pm hour tonight, so we’ve got plenty of manpower deployed to cover the storm.  We are positioned all across the metro for the snow and ice.  Our extended coverage will continue tonight at 10pm and we’ll be on all night as the storm develops.  We plan to have coverage all day/night on Wednesday right into Thursday.  In addition to our TV coverage, we are live streaming all of this on our digital platforms and offering a lot of original video content on our mobile and web sites.  So even if viewers lose power they will be able to watch us and stay up to date on everything they need to know.

Glenn Burns, chief meteorologist at WSB, at 3:26 p.m., said the icing could be comparable, if not worse, than the ice storm of 2000 which resulted in 350,000 people without power. There are some predictions of 1.5 inches of ice in North Georgia, which Burns said is only comparable to a storm going back 41 years.

“Be prepared,” he said, “for massive power outages.”

Trey Fabacher, general manager at CBS Atlanta, said the station news operations has everyone on 12-hour shifts, with all news vans stocked with food and out on the road. They have chosen spots around town to do live shots, all with two shifting camera crews and all near hotels. Harry Samler will be at GDOT to track government operations. Fabacher himself has brought in a sleeping bag, anticipating he may be sleeping in his office in Midtown the next two or three nights.

CBS will also simulcast some of its weather coverage tomorrow on talk station 640/WGST-AM, which may help folks who do lose power and may only have a transistor radio.

A spokeswoman for Fox 5 emailed me to say the station is using social media heavily and featuring comments, video and photos from there. “It’s likely that we’ll see significant extended coverage overnight and into the day on Wednesday. We have live reporters all over the Atlanta metro and north/central Georgia. We’ll geo-target the hardest hit areas with live field reports throughout the winter emergency,” she wrote.

Atlanta-based Weather Channel, which is dubbing this storm Pax, had Jim Cantore in Charleston, S.C. when the last storm hit. This time, he’s going to Augusta, where a lot of snow is anticipated.

The network has dumped all reality programming until Thursday and will run 24/7 live programming on the winter storm.

95.5 FM and AM750 News/Talk WSB has stocked up on food to feed its team the next several days and all essential on-air staff is either staying in walking distance or staying at WSB headquarters in Midtown, according to Condace Pressley, assistant program director.

11 Alive, the NBC affiliate, is in the most awkward position because it’s airing the Winter Olympics. While the other three networks as of 4 p.m. were airing weather coverage, NBC was airing cross-country skiing. It later did run some local coverage but is obligated to air the Olympics during primetime, at least tonight before the weather really goes bad. It’ll be interesting to see how they balance Sochi with the local ice storm.

UPDATE: Wednesday, 9:15 a.m.: 11 Alive GM John Deushane sent me this note:

We sent 15 crews out to various points in the DMA on Monday with hotel accommodations. At the station, we created sleeping accommodations for 50 people and we’re all working in shifts (if 22 hours can be considered a shift!). Gannett is always very helpful with sending in extra equipment from other stations as well and we prepared for those arrangements last Friday.

Our main Olympic coverage is still airing on 11Alive (3P – 5P and 8P-11:30P), but other key NBC programming (Today Show, Days of Our Lives) is moving to THEAtl channel 36. All of our live news coverage is also being streamed to mobile devices and online at 11alive.com

WSB-TV, WSB Radio and ajc.com are all owned by Cox Media Group.

Ken Cook is retiring from WAGA-TV after 35 years later this summer.

Ken Cook, the longest-running meteorologist on Atlanta television, is retiring, he announced Monday during Fox 5’s 10 o’clock news.

He will be leaving the airwaves during the middle of the summer.

Here’s what Fox 5 posted on its website and the station created a hashtag #thanksken

Here is his statement:

Ladies & Gentlemen:

I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you some news.

I am happy to tell you that I will be retiring at the middle of this Summer.

This was not a decision done in haste or taken lightly, but one that my wife, Susie, and I, along with FOX-5, have been working on for more than one year now.

I have really enjoyed being your Chief Meteorologist here at FOX5, but now it’s time for me to move on to the next chapter of my life — retirement.

I have contemplated retirement for a long time. I think that anyone past 60, or even younger, thinks about it a lot.

Over the years, I’ve planted a lot of roses — actually and figuratively — and now it’s time for my wife and me to start to smell the roses.

I will miss the wonderful people with whom I have worked with daily here at FOX5. They are my friends, my confidants, and my family. I will miss telling you, my friends, about the weather. After all, what does a Meteorologist love to do most? — talk about the weather. I have enjoyed sharing fun times; serious times; and sometimes sad times with you. Now it’s time for someone else to do that. I leave you in good hands with Meteorologists, Jeff Hill and Joanne Feldman and the rest of the FOX5 News Team.

I am sure that you will see me pop up on TV from time to time, and I will remain involved with local charities, such as the MDA, Cystic Fibrosis, the American Heart Association, and others.

I want to thank you for the nearly 35 great years that I’ve had here at FOX5.

Thank you!

Rumors of his pending retirement have been floating around for weeks.

He has been with WAGA-TV since 1979, including time when it was a CBS affiliate. (Glenn Burns at Channel 2 Action News has been there since 1981.) Before that, he spent several years at the National Weather Service.

GM Bill Schneider provided this quote: “Ken is Atlanta weather.  His commitment to our community is unparalleled. We have depended on his forecasting for 35 years and appreciate all he has done to keep us safe in times of severe and uncertain weather. Thank you Ken, it has been a privilege to work alongside you.”

In an interview I did with Cook about five years ago when he was celebrating 30 years on air on WAGA, he said the Web had changed his role over the years beyond merely providing simple forecasts: “It’s important for me as a meteorologist to understand this stuff and interpret it. We’ve become expert interpreters. Anybody can go on the Internet and see all the forecasts.”

Weather, he noted, has also become more important to the newscast than it used to. During a 30-minute show, he said, he’ll pop up three times now instead of just one time in the past.

At the time, Cook said he was still several years away from retirement. He was still having fun. “Our job is make the weather interesting,” he said. “The clear weather days are tougher than the stormy days.”

Here is the intro to Ken Cook WAGA did back in 1979:

Here’s another promo from the “Anchorman” era:

Here’s a promo from 1994:

And here he is from 2012:

Here’s the video of him announcing his retirement:

CineStars’ Brittany Umar and I discuss Bachelorette Andi Dorfman leaving the District Attorney’s Office, HLN host Vinnie Politan’s move to 11Alive and Ken Cook’s retirement.

Aereo, the service that provides those who cut the cord a DVR option and an easier way to access broadcast TV on tablets and desktops, just lost a major ruling at the Supreme Court today.

The two-year-old service uses miniature antennas to pick up the broadcast signals and charges subscribers $8 to $12 with storage included. About 500,000 households in about a dozen cities, including Atlanta, use Aereo.

“The broadcasters won. It was a slam dunk for them,” said Brad Adgate, senior vice president for research at Horizon Media Inc.

The decision is exactly what major broadcasters such as ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC were hoping for. They believe Aereo is stealing their copyrighted transmissions. Cable and satellite companies pay millions to retransmit their signals. Aereo, using what they see as a loophole in copyright law, pays nothing.

“We’re gratified the Court upheld important Copyright principles that help ensure that the high-quality creative content consumers expect and demand is protected and incentivized,” ABC said in a statement.

Chet Kanojia, Aereo’s founder and chief executive, said in a statement that the ruling was a “massive setback” for consumers and “sends a chilling message to the technology industry.”

More details here.

UPDATE on June 28: The service said it has placed a “pause” on operations as of 11:30 a.m. today as it appeals the case in a lower court.

The broadcast networks had threatened to take their signals off the open airwaves if Aereo continued to offer its service.

***

BET is sued for shutting down “The Game’ Facebook fan page. CREDIT: BET

When BET’s ‘The Game” returned to the air in early 2011 after it was canceled by the CW, the Atlanta-shot comedy drew a whopping 7.7 million viewers, the network’s biggest take ever for a scripted show.

The network at the time credited social media, especially a popular Facebook fan page created by Stacey Mattocks.

This week, Mattocks sued BET for forcing her site down, according to a story by the Hollywood Reporter.

BET back in 2011 tried to hire her as a social media coordinator and at times, tried to just take over the page. At first, she worked as a freelancer. They offered her a social media job for up to $85,000, which sounds pretty good, but she refused because she would have lost the rights to her page.

The two sides went back and forth with no resolution until mid-2012, when BET ordered Facebook to take the page down since she was using BET intellectual property.

According to the story, “She’s now alleging that BET has committed tortious interference, breach of contract, breach of good faith and fair dealing, and copyright infringement.”

The show itself has lost quite a bit of its popularity with fans since that 2011 launch and draws around 2 to 2.5 million viewers, still a hefty number for BET.

***

Rob Redding will be in a stage play this weekend at Rich Theater at Woodruff Arts Center called “Ghosts of Rock.”

Rob Redding, formerly on WAOK-AM, is back in town to be part of an ’80’s rock comedy stage play opening at the end of the month.

Redding will play the older version of Coy in the finale of “Ghosts of Rock.”

The play is loosely based on “A Christmas Carol,” said Director Keena Hunt. Rock gods such as Jimi Hendrix look down and see rock in peril and send in three ghosts of rock: past, present and future. They merge with the spirits of blues and rock legends, a fast-track to the musical mileage they desperately need.

The production will run at the Rich Theater at Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta from June 27th to 28th.

You can purchase tickets at: 404-733-5000

***

Fox 5 is adding another half-hour of local news from 8:30 a.m. to 9 .m. on Saturdays starting July 5, bumping off a show called “Awesome Adventures.”

WAGA-TV by far airs the most local news programming in Atlanta, with about 73 hours a week out of 168 potential hours.

Ken Cook’s final day on air is July 18, 2014. CREDIT: WAGA-TV

For the first time since Jimmy Carter was president, Ken Cook next week won’t be gracing WAGA-TV with his now gray but still identifiable mustache and his confident, reliable weather forecasts.

Instead, the veteran meteorologist will likely be on his boat near his home on Lake Lanier, literally gone fishin’.

“I don’t fish a lot,” Cook said in an exclusive interview three days before his final time in front of Fox 5 cameras Friday night. “The reason? I usually don’t catch a lot. Now I’ll have time to work on it.”

Cook said he decided two years ago that this would be his final contract with the Fox affiliate, which was a CBS affiliate for the first 15 years of his career at WAGA-TV.

“I’ve actually started to collect Social Security,” Cook said, noting he’s 66 years old. “Why am I still working? And honestly, financially things got a lot better after the downturn in 2008. I considered at the time to take an early retirement, but the downturn happened.”

Ken Cook from the early 1980s. CREDIT: Fox 5

Before becoming a broadcaster, Cook spent several years at the National Weather Service where he was a weather preparedness spokesman, speaking before business groups and schools.  But he said at the time, some of his colleagues were moving to TV, where the pay was significantly better.

So he jumped aboard the TV train in 1979 – and never left.

In the 1970s, many broadcasters doing weather didn’t have a meteorology background. WAGA-TV was trying focus more on professionalism by hiring him, Cook said.

WAGA-TV made a big deal about it, too. Check out this snazzy 1979 promo introducing him to the market:

“I was pretty nervous in the early days getting used to being in front of cameras,” Cook said.

His mustache, he said, was already part of his look going back to the mid-1970s when mustaches were in vogue. He said it became such a strong part of his visual persona, he never had the heart to part with it. (His ‘stache even has its own Facebook page.)

One thing that has changed? The technology. At first, he used decidedly analog magnetic maps. WAGA soon spent several hundred thousand dollars on a state-of-the-art radar system and color computer graphics. Here’s how the forecast looked in 1981:

Over time, the technology improved even more and so has his ability to fine-tune his forecasting. Even in the early days, he felt he was able to offer pretty accurate forecasts up to two days in advance. That soon edged up to three days. Today, he said forecasts are pretty reliable up to a week ahead.

Cook admits that nobody’s perfect. He didn’t foresee the Atlanta floods of 2009, for instance. “That developed overnight,” he said. “We had never had a system like that. We had never seen that amount of rain in that short a time going back to 1878. Sometimes weather does freaky things.”

Overall, he has never been a man who liked to cry wolf and proclaim every incoming storm as the storm of the century. “I’ve always tried to approach the process with the viewer in mind,” he said.

While most of the thousands of days he has forecast the weather have been normal and quickly forgettable, a few days stick out. The Super Bowl 2000 ice storm debacle. The 2011 super tornado outbreak. This year’s snowpocalypse. And its precursor in 1982, which also paralyzed the city. “My wife Susie worked at Lenox,” he said. “She got stuck on Lenox Road and hiked to the interstate. She found a guy with a four-wheel drive.” She convinced the man to drive her to their home at the time off Clairmont and I-85 by name-dropping Ken’s name..

The weather the rest of this week looks to be very much like Cook himself: pleasant and mild. He isn’t expecting to cover any tornadoes walking out the door.

But expect a classy send-off on Friday by his colleagues.

Cook’s retirement plans are modest right now. He plans to buy a second home by the beach at some point.  And like retired Channel 2 Action news anchor Monica Pearson, he’s open to taking endorsement deals, something he can’t do as a working journalist. “I need to get in before she takes them all!” he joked.

Here is his retirement announcement last month:

Fox 5’s new set this morning for “Good Day Atlanta.” CREDIT: Fox 5

Fox 5 debuted its new, sleek modern set today.

The color blue is prevalent. And there are a lot more video screens.

Like homes, TV sets do look dated after a few years. This is WAGA-TV’s first update in seven years, which isn’t that long but in this competitive market, a seeming necessity. It’s the first new set since GM Bill Schneider took over about four years ago.

The staff worked on a temporary set for more than two months. I’m told they kept the set build out as super secret as they could get away with.

11 Alive and CBS46 both recently created new sets as well. Channel 2 Action News’ set is about eight years old and will be revamped later this year.

Here was a teaser posted on YouTube:

Here’s the time lapse build out:

***

“The Vampire Diaries” again cleaned up during the Teen Choice Awards. CREDIT: The CW

Atlanta and Georgia was well represented during the Teen Choice 2014 awards that aired Sunday night on Fox:

Choice Movie: Sci-Fi/Fantasy

“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”

Choice Movie Actor: Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Josh Hutcherson, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”

Choice Movie Actor: Comedy

Kevin Hart, “Ride Along”

Choice Movie Villain

Donald Sutherland, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”

Choice Movie Actress: Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Jennifer Lawrence, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and “X-Men: Days of Future Past”

Choice TV Show: Fantasy/Sci-Fi

“The Vampire Diaries”

Choice TV Actor: Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Ian Somerhalder, “The Vampire Diaries”

Choice TV Actress: Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Nina Dobrev, “The Vampire Diaries”

Choice TV Female Scene Stealer

Candice Accola, “The Vampire Diaries”

Choice Country Group

Lady Antebellum

Choice Country Song

“This is How We Roll,” Florida Georgia Line featuring Luke Bryan

***

B98.5 recently revamped its logo.

Here’s the top 15 Atlanta radio stations from July, 2014, according to Nielsen Audio:

1. B98.5 (first time ever at the top in a non-Christmas month)

2. News 95.5 and AM750 WSB

3. V-103

4. (tie) Kiss 104.1, 94.9/The Bull (best ever performance)

6. 97.1/The River

7. (tie) Q100, Fish 104.7

9. Majic 107.5/97.5 (big drop over two months)

10. Hot 107.9

11. (tie) 90.1/WABE-FM, Kicks 101.5

13. Praise 102.5

14. Star 94.1

15. Radio 105.7

Next Monday, WAGA-TV bids farewell to the syndicated show “Mike & Juliet” and welcomes a third hour of “Good Day Atlanta,” dubbed “Good Day Xtra.” The show starts at 9 a.m. Monday, Sept. 14.

The new hosts: sports reporter and occasional “Road Warrior” contributor Karen Graham (upper left) and meteorologist Jeff Hill. (upper right)

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Mark Hayes, who hosts with Suchita Vadlamani from 7 to 9 a.m., will do news broadcasts. And to promote the new syndicated “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader” at 1 p.m. (starting Sept. 21), the hosts will be given trivia questions to see if they’re smarter than fifth graders.

Bud McEntee, the news director, said the show will be able to grab musical artists who normally wouldn’t perform or visit before 9 a.m. Plus, they’ll be the only local news operation on air at 9 a.m. in case there is any breaking news at the time.

Like the “Today” show, the pacing at 9 a.m. will be a bit more leisurely, more geared to folks staying at home and not working. That means lifestyle stories, fashion stories, cooking segments and money-saving tips. The network will also be able to do interviews with more celebrities doing satellite interviews from the West Coast.

McEntee also said this will enable to Graham and Hill a chance to spread their wings and break into a more conversational mode.

As for Graham, “she’s somebody we’ve really identified as someone to watch in this type of programming,” said general manager Gene McHugh. He said they had her do some “Idol” coverage this year and felt she was “fantastic.”

The 9 a.m. hour is fairly competitive, especially against the fourth hour of the “Today” show on WXIA-TV and “Regis & Kelly” at WSB-TV.

“Anytime you can originate any local programming and get yourself competing with the others, go for the gusto,” said Michael Castengera, a senior lecturer and broadcast news consultant at the University of Georgia. “Plus, WAGA gets to keep all the local [ad] inventory. They don’t have syndication costs. And the additional out-of-pocket staffing expenditures are minimal.” (In other words, they get their existing salaried staff to do more.)

Other stations around the country are doing similar things, he said: “It’s minimum expense, maximum exposure.”

Mark Hayes

Now we know why Mark Hayes so willingly stepped away from his gig at “Good Day Atlanta” on Fox 5 earlier this month: he has a new gig in Dallas as a morning anchor for the NBC affiliate, KXAS-TV. He will start in May, anchoring from 4:30 a.m. to 7 a.m.

“When a viewer turns on the news in the morning, Mark is the kind of person they want to see,” said Susan Tully, NBC 5 Vice President of News, in a press release. “He has a warm delivery and makes the early wake-up just a little more enjoyable. Mark had a deeply loyal following in Atlanta because of his personable approach to giving viewers their first news of the day.”

Tully declined to be interviewed.

Hayes, who was at “Good Day Atlanta” for ten years, hasn’t returned a phone call or text yet. He did emote in the press release using all sorts of big adjectives:

Their extraordinary vision and passion for journalistic excellence was what attracted me to this opportunity and I can’t wait to be part of such an outstanding news organization, rich with history and tradition, and dedicated to covering North Texas news. It is an honor and privilege to join NBC 5.”

According to Ed Bark, who has covered Dallas TV for more than a quarter century, Fox4 in Dallas is No. 1 and the NBC affiliate is a solid No. 2. I sent him an email and this is his response:

It’s a very competitive and close early morning race, with NBC5 trying to hold off the ABC affiliate, WFAA-TV, while also trying to catch front-running Fox4.

NBC5 still has an early morning overhaul in progress, and will still be adding a new featured meteorologist. So I don’t think it’s a bad movie for Hayes. And I’m sure he’ll be getting a fairly substantial promotional campaign in times when NBC5 seems to be serious about upgrading its product.

Brett Martin, the former Road Warrior at Fox 5, called this “a good move. He ran his course at Fox 5. But he’s a huge Giants fan. He’s going to have to adjust to life in the big D [with the Cowboys.]“

In case you missed Hayes’ goodbye on April 6 from “Good Day Atlanta,” here it is:

Mark Hayes Says Goodbye to FOX 5: MyFoxATLANTA.com

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By Rodney Ho, Radio & TV Talk

April 5, 2010, by Rodney Ho

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Ken Cook was a stable force at WAGA-TV from the time it was a CBS affiliate through Snowmageddon.

By Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com, filed Dec. 4, 2014

Local TV weather forecaster Ken Cook, who just retired this past summer after 35 years at WAGA-TV, and Mike Roberts, a former V-103 morning host, were named to the 2015 Georgia Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Roberts was a dominant morning jock at V-103 from 1986 through 1998. He was there as the station transitioned from an R&B station to a younger, more hip-hop vibe. He has since owned his own radio station in Macon, classic soul Majic 100.1 (WQMJ-FM).

“This has been a humbling 2 years for me,” said Roberts, who was also inducted into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame last year. “I didn’t expect any of this. Words can’t express how honored I am to even be considered.”

Cook joined WAGA-TV in 1979 and left over the summer after a long, illustrious career covering all sorts of crazy Atlanta weather, from tornadoes to Snowmageddon.

“I was thrilled. I was honored that they would consider me. I’m tickled about it,” Cook said. (He’ staking a lot of small trips. He’s in Charleston now visiting a daughter and grandkids and just traveled to Destin.) He is open to do endorsements right now, in case anybody would like to use him as a spokesman.

Mike Roberts, already in the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame with Ryan Cameron, has now been inducted in the Georgia Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame as well. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

According to the GAB: “Consideration for this honor is given to broadcasters with a minimum of 20 years in broadcasting with a significant portion of their career spent in Georgia, a solid record of achievement including rating dominance and local/national awards, and a history of dedication to the communities they serve.”

The induction ceremony will be held at the University of Georgia January 23, 2015.

By RODNEY HO, originally filed August 25, 2010

Gene McHugh last week officially retired after 14-plus  years as general manager at Fox affiliate WAGA-TV.

The 63-year-old television executive can look back with pride. The station held its own as a solid No. 2 behind perennial leader WSB-TV the entire time he was there while carving out more news hours than any local news operation.

“It’s been one of the more stable environments,” he said, in a business notorious for turnover.”I count myself among the lucky ones.”

WAGA-TV has been one of the strongest Fox affiliates in the country. Shows tend to do better here than they do nationally across the board, from “The Wendy Williams Show” to “House” to “American Idol.” And its 10 p.m. news show, especially after “Idol,” often draws 300,000 or more viewers.

In recent years, the station has increased the number of broadcast news hours on air including an 11 p.m. news show and an extra 9 a.m. hour in the morning. But it hasn’t increased on-air staff very much. “It doesn’t change people’s workloads,” McHugh said. “It increases productivity and provides the market with more information.”

He’s also happy with the way the day-time line-up has worked out over the years, heavily focused on court shows. “Judge Judy” actually does well against “Oprah” on WSB-TV, he said.

Morale at the station was poor before McHugh arrived in the mid-1990s, said Dan Keever, a former video journalist for WAGA who now works at the University of Georgia. But he said staff morale “jumped to the ceiling” after he arrived. “He’s much loved,” Keever said. “He’s even. He’s fair. He’s calm. And he cares about the people.”

He is being replaced by Bill Schneider, who was general sales manager at the station a decade ago and knows the market. He has since worked in Denver and Tampa.

“Gene’s done a remarkable job with this station,” he said. “He’s recruited some really talented people. The station’s in a terrific position.”

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