WIAT Adds Art Franklin To Morning News

Journalist Art Franklin has joined Media General’s CBS WIAT Birmingham, Ala. (DMA 45) He will lead a team of journalists as they deliver Storm Track weather, traffic reports as well as breaking news and stories that affect families in Central Alabama. His first day on the CBS 42 Morning News will be Monday, Feb. 8.

Franklin is a familiar face to millions of people in Central Alabama and beloved throughout the area. He spent 12 years anchoring the evening and late news in Birmingham, making history as the city’s first African-American male anchor in primetime, according to WIAT.

After Birmingham, Franklin joined WAGA and WXIA in Atlanta. Most recently, he worked in public relations with a concentration on media relations, media training and content creation.

Franklin’s accolades include two Emmy Awards and a Scripps Howard Award for Journalistic Excellence. He has reported on stories throughout the world with assignments in Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Puerto Rico, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia covering the Persian Gulf War, and the devastation of Hurricane Mitch in Honduras. Domestically, his reports included the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks on the World Trade Center, the terrorist attack at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, President Bill Clinton’s grand jury testimony in the Monica Lewinsky case in Washington, numerous presidential campaigns, as well as hometown stories about local heroes and communities fighting against violence.