Fox News had a billboard in front CNN headquarters for years to tweak the competitor.

Now AccuWeather, ready to launch a cable station to compete against Atlanta-based the Weather Channel later this year, is doing the same. With the American Meteorological Society coincidentally in town this week for its annual conference, Accuweather placed this billboard in the heart of downtown:

AccuWeather made the announcement about its new network last month right after DirecTV removed the Weather Channel from the air while the two are in dispute over retransmission fees.

According to the Centre Daily, State College, Pa.-based AccuWeather provides forecasting services to 175,000 clients worldwide and has a viewership of more than 1 billion. It serves 200 television stations, 760 radio stations and 600 newspapers, said spokesman Justin Roberti. The one missing component is a cable network.

DirecTV currently airs WeatherNation, another competitor to the Weather Channel.

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.

Jennifer Mayerle tonight on Facebook announced her pending departure from CBS Atlanta as a reporter after eight years. She is giving the world two months notice so we’ll continue to see her on air until April.

She’s joining a CBS affiliate WCCO-TV in Minneapolis.

CBS Atlanta is not known for stability. Among its reporting crew, Mayerle was one of the veterans. (Rebekka Schramm is the veteran at 14 years, followed by Adam Murphy at 11 years.)

Here’s Mayerle’s note:

Well friends, my time in Atlanta is coming to a close. It’s been an incredible 8 years working at CBS Atlanta. I’ve been given opportunities that exceeded my expectations, worked with talented people and grown as a journalist and person. And soon, I’m heading home – home to take a reporting position at WCCO in Minneapolis. It’s the station where I had my first internship, the station I grew up watching, and the station I wanted to work at if I ever decided to live and work in Minneapolis. While bittersweet, I couldn’t be more excited to be joining such a great team. I have plenty more stories to tell in the two months before I say ‘so long’ to the South. To those in Atlanta, don’t be a stranger. To those in Minnesota, see you soon.

The new logo unveiled today.

CBS Atlanta five years ago dropped its name CBS46, figuring people didn’t identify with channel numbers as much anymore.

But new general manager Trey Fabacher said research shows that the number 46 still has power so he brought it back.  Today, starting at the 4 p.m. news, the new logo and name CBS46 was unveiled.

“CBS Atlanta did not resonate like it was intended,” Fabacher said. “As we talked to people about our station, they refer to us as 46. The station is a local news station. It’s known in this market as 46.”

The logo CBS46 used as CBS Atlanta for five  years until today.

He said most stations in the country still use their original broadcast channel numbers. Locally, the other three local channels with news operations use their broadcast channel numbers prominently. For years, Fox affiliate WAGA-TV has dubbed itself Fox 5. For even longer, NBC’s WXIA-TV has been 11Alive. And WSB-TV, even with the heritage of those call letters, prefers to call itself Channel 2 Action News.

Many people in town use Comcast, which does not match up broadcast channels with their channel spots. Channel 2 is on 3, 11Alive is on 6, Fox 5 is on 4 and CBS46 is on 9. But on other satellite and cable networks, Fabacher said, CBS46 is on the proper channel.

Reporters are now saying CBS46 instead of CBS Atlanta.

The local station, owned by Meredith, also rebuilt their main studio, which looked very blue when I took this photo at 4:03 p.m. today:

CBS46’s new studios in Midtown, taken off my TV at 4:03 p.m. today. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

Fabacher has hired several new anchors and reporters in the past  year since he joined the station. This is a culmination of his revamp.

Scott Light, a new evening anchor, posted this on his Facebook page:

Our new skyline background is thanks to a bank of 18 HD monitors. Plus we have two dozen different camera positions for anchors, reporters and meteorologists to bring you the best newscasts.

Here is Jocelyn Connell’s new mic flag she just posted on Twitter:

Outside of 11 p.m. news, the station has struggled over the years to climb out of fourth place in most time slots. Channel 2 tends to dominate, followed by Fox 5, then 11Alive. Atlanta local news viewers’ habits die hard.

Here are the various logos the station has used from 1977 to 2009:

Here were the CBS Atlanta openings from 2013 until today:

The station was briefly called  Clear News from 2000 to 2002. Someone actually posted a YouTube video of that:

Recent stories on CBS Atlanta:

2/18/14: Jennfier Mayerle leaving CBS Atlanta

1/22/14: Brandon Rudat finds a new job in Phoenix

1/9/14: Adam Murphy gets his “Restaurant Report Card” back

12/11/13: CBS Atlanta hires new morning anchor Frank Wiley

9/4/13: Scott Light hired as new evening anchor

8/13/13: Tracy Hutchins moves to evenings, replaced by Michelle Burdo

8/9/13: Two new members of CBS’s “Better Mornings”

7/18/13  Anchor Brandon Rudat leaves CBS “Better Mornings”

7/18/13: Larry Smith named new sports director at CBS Atlanta

6/18/13: CBS Atlanta cuts ties with 790/The Zone

6/17/13: Meteorologist Cris Martinez leaves CBS Atlanta

6/5/13 : Anchor Jaquitta Williams is out at CBS Atlanta

1/4/13: News director Eric Ludgood out at CBS Atlanta

12/15/12: Meteorologist Justin Lock departs CBS Atlanta

Jeff Dore’s final day on Channel 2 Action News is Friday, March 28, 2014 after 30-plus years on the air. Here he is in the newsroom earlier in the week. CREDIT: Carol Sbarge/WSB-TV

Channel 2 Action News reporter Jeff Dore is retiring this Friday after more than 30 years at the station.

“After the two winter storms and sleeping on an air mattress in a Channel 2 office, I realized it was time, ” Dore said today while on the road covering a fire that burned up 17 police motorcycles.

Dore came to WSB-TV in January, 1984, when reporters were still pounding out stories on electronic typewriters at the old building dubbed “White Columns.”

At age 61, Dore said only Diana Davis has been reporting at the station longer than he has – and she only beat him by a few months.

Dore contracted leukemia a decade ago and has been in remission ever since. One side effect: a reduced immune system that has made him susceptible to other illnesses. In late 2012, he was down for the count with pneumonia, taking him off the air for two months. A second new bout of pneumonia hit him almost immediately and he was gone again for two months. “It was very very hard, physically and mentally,” he said.

Jeff Dore after the snake bite. CREDIT: WSB-TV

In July, working in his yard at his Sandy Springs home, he got bit by a snake in July, landing him in the hospital for two more days.  He crashed his bike two weeks later. Then his father passed away at the end of last year.

He said he’s leaving in the middle of a contract, but his bosses have been kind to let him out without penalty.

“I was really looking at my mortality,” he said. “I don’t want to die on the job.”

Dore said he’s always been a features guy at heart. Prior to WSB, he was the “on the road” guy at a Nashville TV station. He and a photographer would go out into the country and just find stories on the fly.

But over the past two decades, with WSB’s emphasis on breaking news, he’s had to adjust to a daily diet of homicides, fires, traffic accidents and bad weather. He said he first learned to do the news straight, then over time, add his own take on things.

“I’ve always kept the feature reporter alive in me even doing hard news,” Dore said. “If they sent me to cover a tornado, I’d come back with somebody totally wacky with a bizarre take on the experience. I’d always look for that quirky twist.”

He said over three decades, he went from being the young gun to the wily veteran. He remembers when he was new, he asked  former WSB reporter Don McClellan how he had lasted so long in such a tough business. More than two decades later, new reporter Ryan Young asked Dore how he kept going.  He felt a sense of deja vu. “I realized I was older than Don was when I asked him that same question!” he said. “Now I know what I look like to the young reporters!”

Dore said he never chose to dye his hair as it gradually went white. “The only thing we really have is our credibility,” he said. “I shouldn’t go on air every night and tell this subtle lie about how I really look. I am what I am. Take it or leave it. And I knew if I started doing it, I’d have to keep doing it!”

He said his most memorable stories were covering hurricanes. He recalls during 1989’s monstrously destructive Hurricane Hugo entering places the cops had abandoned in Myrtle Beach. He remembers doing a live shoot with rain and wind whipping in his face, obscuring his view. He could barely see the light coming from his photographer Eddie Green’s camera. At one point, the light shifted several feet so he moved with it. Afterwards, he learned the wind had actually lifted Green off his feet into the air, turning him briefly into a kite.

Dore said he’s proud he lasted in the business as long as he has. “I’ve seen so many people come and go,” he said. “And over the years, I’ve developed my own style. I try to see the humanity in any story. I treat everyone with respect. And I appreciate humor even in the worst situations. If you listen to what people are saying and appreciate the quirky moments, you can reveal what the truth is and how people really feel about a situation.”

With retirement just a couple of days away, he said he plans to spend more time as guitarist and vocalist for his bluegrass band Hicks With Picks. (He currently plays weekly at his church Rock Spring Presbyterian on Piedmont.). He also trains for a charity bike ride each year for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Here’s a sampling of his work on YouTube:

And here’s the snake bite story, reported by Diana Davis:

Judge Glenda Hatchett, once one of the most popular TV judges, was part of the celebrity panel last month for a KIPP schools fundraiser. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

A recent fundraiser for KIPP open enrollment schools raised $210,000 using an “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?”-style twist.

The second annual event at Buckhead Theatre featured celebrity adults “Top Chef” finalist and Gun Show restaurant owner Kevin Gillespie, former TV judge Glenda Hatchett, Falcons defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi, Central Atlanta Progress President A.J. Robinson and Morehouse president Dr. John Wilson Jr. pitted against select middle school and high school KIPP students.

Jeff Foxworthy, former host of the original Fox show “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” was also supposed to be there, but he had recent neck surgery and was unable to attend.

KIPP, which stands for Knowledge is Power program, is a nationwide network of 141 free open-enrollment  college-prep schools for neighborhoods that especially need it. Seven are in Atlanta. One key element: they spend 50 percent more time in the classroom than their peers.

The questions ranged from biology to math to English literature to history (“What’s the longest running monarchy?”). There were multiple questions about the periodic table.

Not surprisingly, the students spanked the adults 130 to 70.

As the adults fell behind, Hatchett feigned exasperation. “I feel a headache coming on,” she cracked.

On the bright side, , that was an improvement for the grown ups a year ago, who garnered just 45 points a year ago.

“We lost so badly last time.” said Hatchett, whose judge show ran in syndication for more than a decade and does a lot of public speaking now. (She was the only repeat celebrity from 2013’s first competition.) “We were a little more respectable this time.”

“For years, I was a juvenile court judge here in Atlanta,” she added. “I know what happens when our students don’t get properly educated and are not properly motivated. What I know is KIPP is just developing these young men and women. We have to invest in our children.” Plus, she added, “My nephew is an administrator. It’s impossible for me to tell him no.”

Jonathan Massaquoi was just glad he was able to answer a couple of questions, including a math problem and an astronomy question.

Jordynn Wilson, a sixth grader from KIPP South Fulton Academy, said the questions were “pretty easy.” She wasn’t surprised the adults struggled. She wants to be an attorney and spoke with Hatchett about her aspirations.

Here are some more photos from the event:

The panelists at the KIPP “Are You Smarter Than a KIPPster” fundraiser at Buckhead Theatre in March, 2014. Top (L-R) Angelo Matos, junior at KIPP Atlanta Collegiate, emcee John Bachman, Falcon Jonathan Massaquoi, Morehouse president Dr. John Wilson, Central Atlanta Progress president A.J. Robinson. Middle row (L-R) Kebreaunna Benn, 11th grade from KIPP Atlanta Collegiate; Tiffany Cunningham, 8th grader at KIPP Vision Academy; Jordynn Wilson, 6th grader at KIPP South Fulton; chef Kevin Gillespie, Judge Glenda Hatchett. Front row (L-R) Shawn Williams, fifth grader at KIPP Ways Academy; Brea Walker, 7th grader at KIPP Strive Academy CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

A.J. Robinson of Central Atlanta Progress yuks it up with Falcons defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

Kevin Gillespie, owner of Gun Show and a former “Top Chef” finalist, ponders a trivial question. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

Jordynn Wilson, a sixth grader from KIPP South Fulton Academy, was part of the KIPP team of students who defeated the adults for a KIPP Schools fundraiser last month. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

Channel 2 Action News anchor John Bachman emceed the event. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

Shawn Williams, a fifth grader at Kipp Ways Academy, was the youngest student on the panel. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

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:

Michelle Burdo has been a host on CBS Atlanta for just under a year. CREDIT; CBS Atlanta

CBS46 morning show host Michelle Burdo used the dated term “colored woman” during a segment about summer hair tips Monday morning during the 9 a.m. CBS Better Mornings Atlanta program.

“Let me tell you something,” Burdo said during a live segment to an African-American woman who appears to be the hair expert. “I’m not a colored woman but I have kinky hair just like her and when you straighten it every day, it’s…” She pauses.

The woman filled the empty air by saying, “healthier.”

Here’s a 12-second portion of the segment:

On Tuesday’s show, at 9:57 a.m., Burdo apologized for her utterance. “Yesterday, I made a pretty insensitive remark during one of our segments here on Better Mornings Atlanta. I apologize… Once again, I truly want to say from the bottom of my heart that I really am sorry about that comment. I made that comment in reference to my hair color but I used an inappropriate term.”

Someone posted the video on YouTube. Comments there and on Facebook include “what the hell,” “we are living in sad times” and “Her color is IGNORANT and UNINFORMED. Where did they find her…Mars?”

Camille Mahdi on Facebook was a bit more empathetic: “LOL, she probably meant to say one thing, but said what she was thinking. That’s honesty. She’s an idiot, but I am not offended in the least bit.”

Lane Michaelsen, the CBS46 news director, said in an email that he made sure she apologized on air but didn’t say if she was reprimanded in any tangible way.  At least she was informed that the phrase “colored” isn’t considered politically correct in this day and age. “Women of color” is okay. “Colored woman”? Not so much.

Is “colored” merely an outdated phrase or is it offensive? The Oxford Dictionary defines it as either or.   About.com wrote an article about what racial terms to avoid and spends time with the word “colored.”

There’s also the popularity of the more modern (and appropriate) term “people of color.” Some people may think it’s okay to simply shorten that phrase to “colored,” but they’re mistaken. Like “Oriental,” “colored” harkens back to an era of exclusion, a time when Jim Crow was in full force, and blacks used water fountains marked “colored” and sat in the “colored” sections of buses, beaches and restaurants. In essence, the term stirs up painful memories.

Earlier on today’s show, co-host Annalee Penny, after showing a viral video of Erykah Badu trying to kiss a reporter in New York during a live shot, uttered, “You never know what’s going to happen when it comes to live TV.”

“Ain’t that the truth!” Burdo responded.

Mike Francis was chief meteorologist at 11 Alive for about two and a half years until earlier this year. CREDIT: 11 Alive

Mike Francis, who left 11 Alive earlier this year as chief meteorologist under murky circumstances, wrote a Facebook post last Friday that suggests he is done with TV news:

A lot of people have been asking me if I am going to get back into TV or if I am done with it….. Here is a “prime” example of why I am done with the insanity known as TV news…..

http://www.showbiz411.com/2014/06/26/abc-news-in-disarray-with-sawyer-ousting-view-firings-walters-return-muir-promotion

A source of mine said he heard Francis might be going into real estate. He didn’t respond to a text related to his Facebook post above.

UPDATE July 2: Francis posted a blog entry at wxgeeknation.com where he confirmed what my source told me. He is indeed going into real estate after 17 years in TV news:

He said in the blog that he was a successful home-builder in Arkansas, where he worked before coming to Atlanta in 2012.

Given the rules in Georgia, he said it would be easier to become a real estate agent here. He said Keller Williams with Denise Buchanan and Kate Boccia at the office in Roswell “have taken me under their wing and as of last week I am a fully licensed Realtor beginning the process of building my real estate business.” He even posted his new business card:

He still plans to chase tornadoes in the plains, he wrote. “Who knows, I might land back on the air in Atlanta because I will not be leaving this city anytime soon. You will most likely see me on the air in Atlanta in some capacity one day, I will let you know the second I do.”

(Jimmy Baron, formerly of 99x and Dave FM, is a Keller Williams real estate agent as well.)

Francis was let go from the NBC affiliate in January after about 18 months at the job.  Sources at the time told me the last straw was when he didn’t respond to calls on a Saturday morning in early January when a major storm was coming through. It took him about six hours to get back to managementand by then, the bosses were fed up. They suspended him, then released him, multiple sources told me at the time.

He describes himself on his Twitter page as ” hardcore meteorologist, I am obsessed with severe weather and tornadoes. I have turned that obsession into saving lives.”

David Chandley joined Channel 2 Action News in November, 1988.

David Chandley, a meteorologist with Channel 2 Action News for 25 years, announced in a staff meeting Wednesday he plans to leave the station at the end of his contract July 11.

News director Mike Dreaden confirmed Chandley’s intentions but declined to comment further.

A University of Georgia graduate, Chandley joined WSB-TV in November 1988. He appears on the daily 5 p.m. newscast.

Chandley has won five Southeast Emmy Awards and taken home the Associated Press Best Weather Reporting Award 11 times, most recently in 2012, according to his biography on the WSB website (which was taken down later in the afternoon.)

UPDATE: He released a statement on Facebook at about 7:30 p.m.:

After 25+ years at WSB-TV, I have decided to not renew my contract. @lhchandley and I have faith and trust in The Lord’s plan for our lives. My career goal has always been to be a chief meteorologist and when my current contract expires on July 11th, that pursuit will begin. Please follow me on my new twitter account @davidchandley

If he leaves July 11, he has a 180-day non-compete clause that will prevent him from immediately joining any other Atlanta TV station until January, 2015.

UPDATED July 7: In a follow up interview, Chandley said he hungers to be the boss. “I want to be the one who is able to dictate and initiate how weather is covered,” he said. “The sports analogy is I’ve been the back-up quarterback for many years. I want the responsibility to be the lead quarterback. I want to know what that feels like.”

Glenn Burns has been the long-time chief meteorologist at WSB. He realized Burns wasn’t planning to retire any time soon so he felt this was the right time to make a move. He said he told management in April and was aware the bosses were hoping he’d change his mind. But his mind was set.

“It’s a great company,” Chandley said. “They’re good people. They couldn’t provide me what I wanted for my career goals. That’s why I have to go elsewhere.”

Chandley said he’s proud of his consistency, being the “calming voice during severe weather.”

He’s also amazed that he, Karen Minton and Burns have been together for nearly 26 consecutive years at the same station. (Brad Nitz joined as a fourth a few years back.) “It’s bittersweet,” he said, breaking up the family.

“I’ve known him since he had a perm!” said Monica Pearson, the former WSB anchor who retired in 2012 after 37 years. “He has the meteorology background, of course, but more importantly, he understands the history of the metro Atlanta area. He’s a Georgia boy. He also has that common touch. I love it when he goes out and covers tornadoes and is able to tell a story through people’s eyes.”

Today, WSB introduced a new meteorologist for the noon news program Katie Walls.

UPDATE: July 3, 2014: Chandley added fresh comments this morning on his Facebook/Instagram:

It’s the 1st day of the rest of my life. Words cannot express how I feel this morning reading all the comments on social media. I am a blessed man challenged to be better man. I have a loving family, supportive friends and colleagues, and serve a God that gives me immeasurably more every day. Keep following me thru this journey. Today, it’s a round of golf with some special people.

There have been plenty of changes on the TV news weather front this year.

Last month, Fox 5 chief meteorologist Ken Cook announced he was retiring after 35 years. His departure date has not been announced beyond the fact it will be sometime this summer. A Fox spokeswoman said the station is holding a nationwide search. Steve Milone, a weekend meteorologist, also announced his departure a few days ago.

Earlier this year, Mike Francis was let go as chief meteorologist at 11 Alive, the NBC affiliate. Francis said in a blog Tuesday that he has become a Keller Williams real estate agent.

“We’ll see how it plays out,” Chandley said.

He plans to take the six-month break to enjoy his new home  in Inman Park. He will walk and bike, as well as play golf and get even more involved with Passion City Church.

Chris Holcomb has been named chief meteorologist at 11 Alive. CREDIT: 11 Alive

Georgia native Chris Holcomb has been named 11 Alive’s chief meteorologist, a job he has been seeking for many years.

The NBC affiliate announced his promotion today via Tweet: Help us congratulate Chris Holcomb 11Alive on his new job as chief meteorologist at 11Alive! http://on.11alive.com/U4oIjL

He replaces Mike Francis, who left in January and has since gone into real estate. Before Francis, Paul Ossmann was the long-time chief there and is now at CBS Atlanta as weekend meteorologist.

On Facebook, Holcomb this afternoon posted this:

I am truly humbled and honored! Ever since I met Guy Sharpe in the grocery store when I was a child, interviewed Chuck Moore for a 6th grade career day project and watched Atlanta news growing up, it was my dream to one day be Chief Meteorologist in my hometown. I have never lived nor worked outside of the state of Georgia. I have lived Georgia weather my entire life. Now that I have this amazing opportunity, I promise to be here for you in good weather and in bad. If you by chance watch another station out of habit, I hope this would be an opportunity to break that habit and turn to your hometown meteorologist on 11Alive News. I’ll be here with you with Brenda Wood, Demarco Morgan and Jeff Hullinger each night! Thanks for watching!!

Holcomb has been waiting in the wings for many years and there was a lot of internal support after Francis left for the popular Holcomb to get the top spot.

11 Alive reporter Doug Richards (who writes the informative blog “Live Apartment Fire”) wrote on Facebook: “I’ve never heard more raucous applause in a newsroom than when [news director] Ellen Crooke made this announcement this afternoon. Chris Holcomb is very deserving.”

According to 11 Alive, Chris was born at Emory hospital, grew up in DeKalb County, and is now raising his family in Gwinnett County. Chris is married to Angie, his wife of twenty three years and has a 19-year-old son and a 15-year-old daughter.

Holcomb has been with 11 Alive since 1991. He is a four-time Southeast Emmy Award winner and two-time Gabby winner.

As the NBC story notes, “It’s a well-deserved promotion and a dream come true for a meteorologist who has lived his whole life in Georgia.”

This move comes amidst a major reshuffling of meteorologists in Atlanta TV news. Fox 5’s Ken Cook last month announced his retirement last month after 35 years and part-time weekend meteorologist Steve Milone recently left as well. David Chandley last week said he is leaving Channel 2 Action News Friday after nearly 26 years in hopes of getting his own chief meteorologist job. Channel 2 last week introduced a new meteorologist Katie Walls and has an opening for a fifth position as well.

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:

Vinnie Politan is hosting a new “Atlanta Alive” morning show August 4, 2014 from 5 to 7 a.m. CREDIT: 11 Alive

Former HLN anchor Vinnie Politan officially joins 11 Alive on air August 4 on a new morning show from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. dubbed “Atlanta Alive.” He will be the primary anchor.

Morning anchor Karyn Greer’s role will shift. She will anchor the noon telecast, do stories for the evening shows and provide more digital content, according to a story posted on 11 Alive.

Chesley McNeil will still anchor the 4:30 a.m. news with Tracy Humphrey.  McNeil will continue to do the weather from 5 to 7 a.m.

“Commuter Dude” Jerry Carnes, education reporter Donna Lowry and “Ways to Save” reporter Valerie Hoff will be taken off the morning show but work throughout the day instead.

Christopher “Crash” Clark and Fred McFarlin will still be handling Atlanta morning traffic. Humphrey will provide headline news updates each half hour and Jaye Watson will present an “11Alive Morning Moment” each half hour.

What is a “Morning Moment”? Here’s how the press release describes it: “Something special each half-hour that makes you think, smile, laugh or cry. This could be a profile of a great character, a Random Act of Kindness, or something else. Whatever form it takes, it will be a celebration of the human spirit and sharable — something we all need each morning in a crazy, hectic Atlanta lifestyle!”

The morning show is in third place behind Channel 2 Action News and Fox 5 but ahead of CBS46. Ratings for the 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. show in the first half of 2014 are up significantly year over year at the 5 a.m. hour, flat at the 6 a.m. hour. The show averaged a 1 rating, up from a .75 a year earlier at 5 a.m. and a 1.9 rating at 6 a.m.

John Bachman is leaving Channel 2 Action News for a new job in Jacksonville, FL. CREDIT: WSB-TV

Channel 2 Action News anchor John Bachman is leaving for a main evening anchor job at a Jacksonville TV station also operated by Cox Media.

He will work for the combo CBS/Fox Action News operations WTEV and WAWS.

Bachman joined WSB-TV in 2007 working as a reporter as well as the anchor for the weekend early evening newscast. In 2011, he joined Monica Pearson as co-anchor of the 4 p.m. news. He continues to co-anchor with Erin Coleman since Pearson retired in 2012.

With Justin Farmer as the main male evening anchor at WSB, Bachman didn’t have much room at the station to move up.

“He’s a terrific guy,” said Mike Dreaden, WSB’s news director. “I’m glad he was able to stay with the company. He gets to flex his muscles and grow.”

He’ll remain on WSB-TV for several more weeks before his move to Florida, Dreaden added.

Bachman confirmed the news in a series of Tweets this morning including this one:

“Journalism is about proper perspective and credibility. I can’t wait to get started with CBS47 and FOX30 Action News as we work to earn and keep that credibility,” Bachman told the Jax Daily Record. “I look forward to getting out and getting to know the people of Jacksonville.”

Bachman, who lives in Cobb County, has a wife and three daughters. Here’s his bio on the WSB-TV website.

With David Chandley having left WSB, Chris Holcomb named chief meteorologist at 11 Alive, Fox 5’s Ken Cook retiring, and Vinnie Politan joining 11 Alive, it’s been a busy month in local news.

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

Lane Michaelsen spent 15 months at WGCL-TV, the CBS46 Atlanta affiliate.

CBS46’s news director Lane Michaelsen has left the station abruptly after just 15 months for a new job.

Two sources tell me he wasn’t happy with the resources Michaelsen was given to try to lift the station’s ratings. The station is frequently in fourth place outside of the 11 p.m. telecast.

Managerial turnover at CBS46 has been chronic since WGCL-TV came into existence two decades ago.

At the time Michaelsen was hired, his boss Trey Fabacher sent these comments via email to staffers: “Michaelsen has built a solid reputation of leading quality newscasts and storytelling. Rating increases have been seen very quickly at almost every post he has held. He is also very skilled in listening and learning about newsrooms and culture and making the right adjustments to place them in the best situation to be successful.”

Today, Fabacher wrote in an email, “Lane accepted another opportunity and we wish him well.” Fabacher, who joined WGCL in September, 2012 as general manager, said he isn’t in a position to announce Michaelsen’s new job.

Michaelsen replaced the well-respected Eric Ludgood, who has since found an assistant news director job at Fox 5 (WAGA-TV).

Under Michaelsen and Fabacher, CBS46 has undergone quite a few staff changes. In February, the station rebranded itself as CBS46 from CBS Atlanta.

Stories I’ve written about the station during Michaelsen’s tenure:

7/1/14: Michelle Burdo apologizes for use of the word ‘colored’

2/18/14: Jennfier Mayerle leaving CBS Atlanta

1/22/14: Brandon Rudat finds a new job in Phoenix

1/9/14: Adam Murphy gets his “Restaurant Report Card” back

12/11/13: CBS Atlanta hires new morning anchor Frank Wiley

9/4/13: Scott Light hired as new evening anchor

8/13/13: Tracy Hutchins moves to evenings, replaced by Michelle Burdo

8/9/13: Two new members of CBS’s “Better Mornings”

7/18/13  Anchor Brandon Rudat leaves CBS “Better Mornings”

7/18/13: Larry Smith named new sports director at CBS Atlanta

6/18/13: CBS Atlanta cuts ties with 790/The Zone

6/17/13: Meteorologist Cris Martinez leaves CBS Atlanta

6/5/13 : Anchor Jaquitta Williams is out at CBS Atlanta

Sam Crenshaw has spent nearly 16 years at 11 Alive. His final day is August 2, 2014. CREDIT: 11 Alive

Sam Crenshaw, sports anchor and reporter for 11 Alive (WXIA-TV) for the past 16 years, is leaving the station. His final day, I’m told by two sources, is tomorrow, Saturday, August 2.

Crenshaw has been on a month-to-month situation and without a long-term contract for quite awhile.

“Sammy is much loved out in the community especially among high school coaches and families and players,” said Randy Waters, a former 11 Alive sports anchor who retired last year after 29 years and is now in banking. “You can’t express what a great person he is. One of the best friends I’ll ever have.” (Waters is also doing Falcons work for CW 69 and Georgia Tech radio.)

UPDATE: August 3, 2014: On his final newscast, Crenshaw had a decent-sized story to cover: the death of former Braves broadcaster Pete van Wieren. His on-air farewell was brief – about 40 seconds. Weekend anchor Keith Whitney wished Crenshaw goodbye at 11:26 p.m. last night. “If there is a nicer guy in this industry, I personally have not met him,” Whitney said on air. “We love you. We’re going to miss you.”

“I appreciate it so much… Thanks so much,” he said in very succinctly.

“End of an era,” Whitney said.

The two remaining sports broadcasters are Fred Kalil (who no longer anchors) and Jeff Hullinger (who also anchor news).

David Wilkinson starts at 11 Alive, replacing Sam Crenshaw, on August 7. CREDIT: 10TV

I haven’t heard back from GM John Deushane to find out if they are going to find a replacement but newsblues, an online website that covers local news, said David Wilkinson from WBNS-TV in Columbus, Ohio has been hired as a new sports anchor. Wilkinson, according to his Facebook page, is from Atlanta and his 10TV bio says he grew up wanting to play for the Braves. UPDATE on August 6: Wilkinson starts Thursday, August 7.

According to Crenshaw’s bio, he is a graduate of University of West Georgia and lives with his wife Phyllis in Duluth.

Crenshaw has not responded to texts to his cel phone.

Paul Crawley was a steady presence on 11 Alive going back to 1978. CREDIT: 11 Alive

Last week was busy and I was terribly remiss not including this bit of news about a veteran news reporter: 11 Alive’s Paul Crawley retired last week after 36 years with the NBC affiliate, an impressively long run.

As Doug Richards, his colleague at 11 Alive, posted on his blog “Live Apartment Fire,” he said Crawley was incredibly prepared every morning “with the best array of story ideas.”

“His anecdotes from our industry, told during slow moments at trials, stakeouts, legislative hearings and in the newsroom, nearly always came with wry insight or a belly laugh or both,” Richards wrote. “His execution and professionalism are top-drawer.”

He wrote more than 10,000 stories and outlasted 11 news directors and seven general managers, according to an 11 Alive story about him. Julie Wolfe, a colleague, wrote this about him: “He never told the same story the same way. He always found a way to reach through the television, grab you by the lapels and make you watch. He made important stories interesting and tragic stories bearable. It’s impossible to know how many of us he inspired to become journalists; I just know I’m one of them.”

UPDATE: In an interview Monday evening, he said this was 100 percent his decision. At age 62, “this was totally my choice,” he said. “I had enough.”

Crawley said he realized it was time when he was covering the second Atlanta snowstorm in two weeks in early February this year. “I was at a Waffle House shaving, shooting my own video,” he said. He said his feelings were the same as those of Channel 2 Action News’ Jeff Dore, who retired in March after 30 years at that station: this type of work was no longer energizing. It was just tiring.

He said 11 Alive’s bosses were very kind to him. When he warned them two years ago after signing his last contract that he might retire in 2014, they said he can stay as long as he wants. Even when his contract expired in May, they offered for him to stay part time or as a freelancer. He said no but he did stick around two more months as they sought to fill his slot.

“We left on amiable terms,” Crawley said. “The way things are going I may as well leave on my own terms.”

Crawley looked at his finances and figured he could make it (a pension from Gannett helped), with just a little part time work. He hasn’t decided if he’ll do voice over work or similar work but he is sure he won’t do news reporting any more.

He also could indulge in his love of cars.

“I”m not a bad mechanic,” he said. “I have a friend who works on muscle cars.” (Crawley is a Mustang fan.)

While Crawley admits he has been able to adjust in a world of social media and 24/7 news online, he calls it “ADD hell.”  He feels all the time spent promoting his stories and being his own camera man and editor “has watered down the product” because he doesn’t spend as much time as he used to doing meat and potatoes reporting.

Crawley said he didn’t dream of being a broadcaster growing up. Rather, he was a theater guy who tried to break into acting but found it easier to get a job in Raleigh on TV in the 1970s. Dick Williams, a former AJC editor who is now part of Fox’s “The Georgia Gang,” hired Crawley at 11 Alive in 1978 when he was the news director.

“His longevity is a testament to his reliability and steadiness,” said Williams. “He’s a fireman. He can cover anything thrown at him any given day.”

The hard-nosed reporter covered the Wayne Williams child murder case (when 11 Alive ran out of space, he took the 30,000-page case file, which is still in his  home), suffered through every major storm in Atlanta going back to the disco era and interviewed every president going back to Gerald Ford. He has ridden on the back of a garbage truck. He’s gone skydiving. He’s been scuba diving.

“I’m one of the dangerous people who knows an awful little about an awful lot,” he said. “I can talk for five minutes on any topic!”

One thing he enjoyed was immersing himself in another person’s profession and different aspects of society. “I love jargon,” he said. “Every profession has its own. Picking up on people’s jargon is a little hobby of mine.”

Crawley came into the business during the glow of Woodward and Bernstein’s Watergate revelations. “Reporters were superheroes,” he said, “not that I ever thought I was. If anything, I always had a fear and awe of what we do. One misspoken word and we can destroy a person’s reputation, destroy their business. There’s no taking it back… Ninety percent of the people we put in front of the camera any given day don’t wake up that morning expecting to have a camera in their face that day. It’s a big deal for them. That’s one thing I always tried to remember. It’s just a job for us.”

Watching the send-off video below, his hair goes from dark brown to bright white over three-plus decades. “I started turning gray in my 40s,” he said. “It happened quickly. I attributed it a great deal to stress. It shows. My father’s hair didn’t turn white until his 60s!”

He never used hairspray or dye. His thick head of hair has always been no fuss, no muss. “TV hair,” he mused. “My wife hates how easy I have it!”

Other recent 11 Alive news:

8/2: Exclusive: Sportscaster Sam Crenshaw let go from 11 Alive after 16 years

8/1: Vinnie Politan plans to bring energy, legal expertise to new morning show “Atlanta

7/16: Vinnie Politan to lead 11 Alive morning show; Karyn Greer moves to daytime

7/2 Former 11 Alive meteorologist Mike Francis joins real estate

7/9: Chris Holcomb named chief meteorologist

6/16: Exclusive: Vinnie Politan leaving HLN for 11 Alive

John Bachman on his last day at Channel 2 Action News today with some parting beach-related gifts. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

John Bachman’s Channel 2 Action News colleagues sent the anchor off today with a heartfelt farewell video and a cooler packed with beach-related gear to acclimate him to the breezy, salt-air environs of Jacksonville, Fla.

Bachman spent seven years at WSB-TV and has anchored the 4 p.m. news program the past three. (His final anchoring gig with WSB will be the 6 p.m. news this evening.)

Cox Media Group, which runs WSB, recently began overseeing a duel CBS/Fox news operation in Jacksonville and the bosses asked Bachman to anchor the evening news there in an effort to boost its ratings.

He was flattered by the offer.

“They’ve already hired some great people and have improved the viewership,” said Bachman in an interview at WSB studios on his final day there. “One reason I took the job was to be part of a good turnaround.”

Bachman’s beach bonafides, though, are limited. Surfer boy, he is not.

He grew up in Iowa, went to college in Minnesota, got his first job in South Dakota, then landed in Raleigh before coming to Atlanta.

“It’s a beautiful city with a lovely river and port,” he said, after visiting a couple of times already. “I plan to spend the next month immersing myself.”

Better yet, Bachman added, “my nine-year-old daughter has already asked for a paddle board.”

Feb. 6, 2012 Atlanta : Channel 2 Action News co-anchor John Bachman (left) hugs Monica Pearson (right) after she announced Monday, Feb. 6, 2012 her retirement date of July 25th during the 4PM newscast. John Spink, jspink@ajc.com

He said he had grown a lot while at WSB: “I got to sit next to Monica Pearson. Richard Belcher has been nearby for years. Listening to that man on the phone is an education in itself.”  He also extolled WSB’s technology and resources.

Bachman said among his on-the-road highlights, he enjoyed traveling to China with Gov. Nathan Deal in 2011 and covering both the Iowa caucuses and the South Carolina Republican primary in 2012.

A Smyrna resident, he already has a lead on a home in Jacksonville to purchase, a sign he plans to stick around awhile.

His camera-ready looks are genetic. His father (also John Bachman) was in the TV business for 35 years in the Midwest. “I grew up in the newsroom,” he said. “Where else can a 12-year-old kid get to go a place at 10 p.m. at night and watch adults running around with their heads cut off?”

John Bachman’s co-anchor Erin Coleman unfortunately missed his final day on the air. CREDIT: WSB-TV

At first, he aimed to be a doctor and was pre-med at St. Olaf College in Minnesota. But his heart wasn’t into it. His father got him an internship at a station based in Sioux Falls, S.D., where he worked for five years before landing a gig in Raleigh, N.C. in 2003. With a child on the way with his college sweetheart Jennifer, he started anchoring on weekends (where coincidentally, his fill in was Erin Coleman, his future anchor mate at WSB.)

WSB came calling in 2007, where he became the primary male backup anchor behind Justin Farmer. And when the 4 p.m. newscast anchor job opened up after Oprah Winfrey’s talks how ended in 2011, he got it.

While Jacksonville is market No. 48 vs. Atlanta’s No. 8, Bachman will become primary anchor at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. on  WTEV-TV CBS 47 and the 10 p.m. news on WAWS-TV Fox 30.

During his second going-away gathering of the day at WSB studios, he told his colleagues, “Seven years have gone by so quickly. I kind of felt like I’ve been here my entire life. I’m going to miss you all.”

Pearson stopped by at 5 p.m. right after his 4 p.m telecast, gave him a huge and teased, “Now I have a place to stay for the Georgia-Florida game!”

Monica Pearson drove into the office to wish John Bachman off at WSB-TV studios.

Channel 2 Action News is part of Cox Media Group, which also operates the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Channel 2 Action News sports director Zach Klein has been at the station for six years. CREDIT: WSB-TV

Certainly, the staff at Channel 2 Action News will deem sportscaster Zach Klein viral video man of the year thanks to his Monday night broadcast where he paid tribute to Robin Williams by weaving 23 references to the legendary actor via 21 movie titles, a TV show and a quote from “Dead Poet’s Society” over two and a half minutes.

The video was acknowledged by USA Today, the New York Post, the Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post and Deadspin, to name a few.

Klein said he was hooked by Williams from “Mork & Mindy” on and wanted to pay homage in a way that wasn’t heavy handed, though being human, he admitted a couple of his movie references sounded more forced than others. Using imdb.com as a cheat sheet, he wrote out his script before the 11 p.m. news.

He said he wanted to include Williams’ Oscar-winning “Good Will Hunting” into the final cut but couldn’t find a natural place for it. He also couldn’t find a place for “Dead Poet’s Society.” Instead, he inserted a classic quote from the film.

Klein would never be defined as one of the crazy ones. But he said when he worked in Orlando, he did entire sportscasts on Christmas Eve in rhyme using “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

Here’s the script. See how many Williams references you can catch:

Now for those of you who suffer from insomnia, Saturday’s Braves game was perfect for you as it ended 2:29 in the morning. Tonight, against the Dodgers, a little more friendly for the timekeeper as this one ended a little after 10. Now while it might seem like nine months since the Braves last won a series, they are coming in with a little momentum, having won two of three against the Nationals. Justin Upton has been the man of the year offensively for the Braves. And here in the fourth, he singles up the middle. Emilio Bonifacio, who had some happy feet, hustles in from second and scores, 1-0 Braves, Jumanji!

Noel, Julio Teheran has flexed his muscles at home like Popeye, going 4 and 1 at Turner Field. He struggled tonight and eventually got the hook. Adrian Gonzalez, who has become everyone’s hero in L.A. with an RBI single right here. 6-2, your final. The Braves will go home and try to cheer up while watching “Mrs. Doubtfire.”

One way to earn the title world’s greatest dad is to team up with Freddie Freeman and participate in his fantasy football league. It could be an early Father’s Day present and this gift is a lot better than toys. Freeman and a few of his Braves teammates hope you seize the day on Friday and join them at the 755 Club for a live fantasy draft. So whether your name is Patch Adams, Hamlet, Jack, Mork or Mindy, everyone is welcome to join the team, snap some selfies and take them to one hour photo. Freddie wants you to have the best of times and raise some money for charity.

Only one more practice for the Falcons at Flowery Branch. As tomorrow they hit the road, no they’re not going to Moscow on the Hudson but to Houston to get in some work with the Texans. Rookie running back Devonta Freeman will definitely make the final cut but there is always something to prove.

Seize the days boys and make your life extraordinary.