Media Frenzy

By Rob Holbert Managing Editor

Something must be in the water right now, as we have a sudden glut of broadcasters leaving local television stations.

Centers to the ATL

The woman who is one of Mobile’s most popular news anchors is headed out of town.

WALA’s Anissa Centers will end her 11-year run at the FOX affiliate Dec. 15 as she and her family will move to Atlanta, where her husband Reggie has accepted a position as the general manager of a car dealership.

Centers said she hasn’t yet decided what she will be doing when she goes to Atlanta. She said the move is one that’s good for her family, but she is saddened to be leaving Mobile.

“It is exciting for my husband and a fabulous opportunity for my family, but it is sad to leave Mobile. They’ve embraced me. For a city where people can literally trace their ancestors back to the founding of the city to embrace a stranger like they have is a big deal,” Centers said.

The move to Atlanta means there may be more opportunities but also lots of competition. Centers is philosophical about her next career move.

“I’m all for diving back into TV, but I’m not necessarily going back into TV,” Centers said, adding that she feels confident she will find something she loves either inside or outside of the news business. As for living in a city of millions, Centers knows her limitations.

“I’m super impatient and hate traffic,” she joked. “I’m sure MARTA and I will become great friends.”

Originally from Longview, Texas, Centers came to WALA after a stint at a Waco, Texas station. She said that move to Mobile was one in which Reggie made a sacrifice, and now she is returning the favor.

“Eleven years ago, he gave up a fantastic job to move here. He wanted me to follow my career. Moving to Atlanta is the least I can do for someone who was willing to take that leap of faith for me,” she explained.

The irony of the situation is that she and Reggie had recently come to a decision that staying in Mobile longterm was what they wanted to do.

“We had settled in. At one point, we were looking at the next place, but about nine months ago, we said ‘this is great.’ Of course when you say that, an offer will come out of the blue.”

Looking back at her time at WALA, Center says she is proudest of a couple of things. First is the fact that she has stayed in this market for 11 years, especially in a business where on-air people move so frequently.

The other thing of which Centers is most proud is her stories on bone marrow donor registration, which highlighted the need for African-Americans to become donors in order to help others who have Sickle Cell Anemia. A few years ago, Centers actually became a donor, something that helped increase registration in Alabama.

Centers has been voted Mobile’s favorite anchor in this publication’s readers poll. She has also won numerous awards, including the Alabama Broadcasters Association’s Anchor of the Year Award last year and the Best Anchor award for Region IV in the National Association of Black Journalists competition.

Ames leaving WKRG

Another well-known anchor is leaving the airwaves, as WKRG’s Holly Ames is calling it quits at the CBS affiliate at the end of October.

Ames anchors the 5 p.m. broadcast alongside Mel Showers, among other things, and has been at the station for the past five years. Ames said she has just decided to take a break from work for a little while and has not decided her future.

“It’s a decision my husband and I made so I could spend more time with my family,” Ames said. “It’s time for me to take a break.”

Ames is a native of Louisiana and was an anchor at KIII in Corpus Christi, Texas before coming to Mobile. She and her husband, Greg, will continue to reside in Fairhope.

More departures

WPMI’s award-winning senior reporter Bruce Mildwurf has joined the parade of longtimers to leave the NBC affiliate.

Mildwurf tendered his resignation to station management to accept a position as a reporter at WRAL in Raleigh, N.C., according to a e-mail sent to the station’s staff Friday afternoon by News Director Michael McCormick.

Mildwurf has been with the station more than eight years and has won numerous awards for his reporting. Of note are his pieces “For Lauren’s Sake,” which dealt with Alabama Medicaid’s practices of dealing with children and won a national Dupont Award. Mildwurf also won the Casey Medal for a two-year-long series “Nick’s Crusade,” which also dealt with Medicaid policy for disabled children and led to a change in federal law. He has also won numerous Edward R. Murrow Awards.

“He is a consummate professional and an outstanding journalist,” McCormick wrote in his e-mail.

Mildwurf is the latest in a string of prominent reporters and anchors to leave WPMI over the past year.

Also departing WPMI is reporter Brian Johnson, who is headed to Atlanta, according to insiders at the station. Johnson has made his bones at WPMI as one of the lead reporters, but is probably best known for his “School Zone” reports where he confronted speeding motorists. Johnson also is well known for his 2006 report on the “Crichton Leprechaun,” which garnered national attention.

No word yet on exactly what Johnson is doing or when he’ll have his last day at WPMI.

And finally, Sheldra Bringham is departing WALA to become an anchor in Texas. She joined WALA in 2005 as a general assignment reporter and is originally from Pensacola.

MBT changes?

For many who want the behind-the-scenes news before it hits the mainstream, Chip Drago’s Mobile Bay Times Web site has been a must-read for some time now. Unfortunately, Drago says the site’s shaky financial status might be its undoing, unless he is able to find some additional funding.

Drago sent out a goodbye letter to readers this past week, but tells Lagniappe there still may be a ray of hope. Here’s hoping MBT can continue to keep this reporter and others in the local community on our toes.

Crowe’s smelling the love

On an upbeat note, uber-talented Press-Register cartoonist J.D. Crowe has published his latest collection of cartoons, and it’s worth getting. If you aren’t lucky enough to see the cartoonist at the post office and badger him out of a book by promising free publicity in your media column, “Smell the Love” can be found at area bookstores, including downtown at Bienville Books. It can also be purchased through the Press-Register.

Crowe says the book is his third since coming to Mobile and is a partnership between himself and the P-R. He said the cartoons were picked chronologically and met Crowe’s criteria that he liked the drawing, had historical significance or got some response when it was published.

He says his personal favorites are a tribute to the shuttle Columbia that his daughter helped him with and several of those involving the school board.

Rob Holbert is Lagniappe managing editor. Contact him at rholbert@lagniappemobile.com.

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