Anchor Janet Hall To Retire From WBRC Birmingham

Janet Hall is stepping away from the WBRC Birmingham, Ala., anchor desk this summer after 40 years delivering the news to viewers. Her last newscast is planned for late August.

Hall has been with those viewers through it all — from the paralyzing Blizzard of 1993, to the deadly tornadoes of April 27, 2011, to the shocking Snowmageddon of 2014. She’s traveled to Japan in 1988 to report on a state industry tour and to Honduras in 1998 with a Birmingham humanitarian mission amid deadly mudslides.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks Hall was sent to New York City in 2001 to report on Alabama stories surrounding the still smoldering Ground Zero.

Her career began in Mobile, but she soon returned to her hometown in 1980 as WBRC’s weekend anchor. In 1985 she teamed up with longtime co-anchor Scott Richards and now shares the anchor desk with Jonathan Hardison and Sarah Verser.

Hall said: “I am filled with gratitude and love for the viewers who have welcomed me into their homes over four decades and allowed a very young reporter to grow into a veteran anchor. It has been my honor to share your stories, your heartbreak and your joy. Thank you for supporting me as I have lived out a career beyond my wildest dreams. I am blessed to have worked with incredibly talented journalists committed to making our community a better place. I’m a lucky girl. I inherited a grand WBRC legacy when I arrived atop Red Mountain 40 years ago to work in the footsteps of legendary broadcasters I grew up watching. I now leave that legacy in the safe hands and hearts of the WBRC family.”

Hall has been recognized with numerous awards including the 2016 Silver Circle from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the 2011 Accolade Award for the documentary April’s Fury, Best Anchor in Alabama in 2001 and 1994 from the Associated Press as well as awards for Best Feature, Best Documentary and Extraordinary Coverage of a Planned Event. The University of Alabama honored Janet with the 2004 Betsy Plank Distinguished Achievement Award and the 1989 Outstanding Communication Studies Alumni Award. In 1999 she was named the “Local Hero in the Fight Against Breast Cancer” by the Komen Foundation.

“No doubt about it, we owe a large debt of gratitude to Janet for all she’s done on behalf of WBRC over the year’s that has allowed this station to succeed and lead in Alabama’s largest market,” said WBRC Vice President and General Manager Collin R. Gaston.  “There will certainly be a void when she’s gone, but her legacy of hard work, empathy for our audiences, high journalistic standards and kind nature will live on. We wish Janet and her wonderful family nothing but the best in retirement,” said Gaston.