Veronica Harrell has lost her job at Total Traffic, where she provided traffic reports for many years for Apollo’s Cox Media Group (CMG) radio stations Kiss 104.1 and WSB radio as well as WSB-TV’s Channel 2 Action News.
Total Traffic & Weather Network, part of iHeartMedia, will also stop providing traffic helicopter services to various radio and TV stations in town for traffic including WSB TV and radio starting Jan. 1. Total Traffic’s Skycopter has been in service for 30 years.
Rob Babin, executive vice president and head of radio for CMG, said “traffic information is critical to our audiences and we will continue this vital service.”
WSB-TV has its own separate breaking news copter and the other three local TV stations share one.
Carol Fowler, chief content officer at NBC affiliate 11Alive (WXIA-TV), said “given the choice, of course, we would rather have access to a helicopter dedicated to traffic, but we’re confident we can adjust our reporting with reliance on our own 11Alive camera network and GDOT. The state of the industry is requiring decisions like this all around.”
Harrell’s departure comes on the heels of two unrelated executive departures from CMG.
Credit: PRM
Credit: PRM
Jaleigh Long last month left as market manager and vice president of CMG Atlanta/Athens after taking over that job in March 2021. “I’m so grateful for the amazing 20+ years in this industry and spending the last 11 with the talented team at CMG,” she said in a text.
Chris Eagan, who joined CMG in 2008 and CMG Atlanta operations in 2012, is leaving his role as senior vice president of audience and programming at CMG Atlanta, which he has held since 2021. He moved up the ranks at CMG, first running B98.5, then adding 97.1/The River and consulting with all CMG adult pop stations. He was then senior director of operations from 2018 to 2021.
On Jan. 1, Eagan takes over as vice president of brand and content for Hubbard Chicago. “I look forward to creating top-tier content in one of the greatest cities in the world,” Eagan said in a press release.
Babin said in a text that he is interviewing for a new market manager. “I appreciate their service and wish both Jaleigh and Chris much success in their future career paths,” he said.
Harrell, whose final day on air was Friday, Dec. 13, said she believes copters “are getting too expensive. People can use drones now.”
And she acknowledged the evolving economics of running local news with shrinking audience and ad revenues. “It’s a changing business,” she said.
For a few years, Harrell said she was employed at both Total Traffic and CMG and has spent many years working side by side with the WSB team of traffic reporters including Ashley Frasca and “Smilin’” Mark McKay. “WSB was wonderful to me,” she said. “I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.”
A Detroit native, Harrell said she came to Atlanta 20 years ago working for rival traffic company Metro Traffic, which was eventually acquired by Total Traffic. She has in the past been heard on V-103 and WAOK.
For now, Harrell said she has received a few months severance and will focus on her podcast “Dope Therapy” with three other hosts from three other cities. “It’s a fun, silly show,” she said. “We try to take you away from your problems for 30 minutes.”
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