WSB Radio History

The incredibly talented and handsome Jim Axel is best known for his contributions to Atlanta TV.  But his career had its roots with WSB Radio.  Jim wrote to us about his time at WSB: I began at WSB Radio .. as most of us did.. as a street reporter covering stories and doing interviews.. but 10 days after I started Elmo Ellis called me into his office and asked if I felt I could handle the assignment of Night News Editor. WOW. Night News Editor at the 50 Thousand Watt, Clear Channel Voice Of The South!! What an opportunity !!
I had no idea if I could handle that position or not.. but I believe I told Mr. Ellis I would give it my best.. and I tried to do that for the next 2-1/2 years.
Did I make mistakes?? SURE !   Did Mr. Ellis bring them to my attention?? SURE - IMMEDIATELY !! Did it help me improve as a newsman?? You better believe it !! Lessons that stayed with me for decades !!
Being Night News Editor began each day at 3pm with a recording session..(commercials and promo's) Had to be quick.. because you had to do a 2-3 minute newscast at 3:30.. then another at 4:30.. another at 5:30.. and the biggie.. the 6-6:15 news (brought to you by Budweiser, see picture to the left!).. then a quick 6:30 before heading out for a bite.. then back to play records from 8pm to 9pm..
leading up to Jerry Vandeventer and his heralded NIGHTBEAT. (Sad to hear that Jerry has left us) There were several other short news briefs before the 11PM Pinnacle of the day: FIVE STAR FINAL NEWS.. BROUGHT TO YOU BY FIRST FEDERAL SAVINGS AND LOAN !! To show you the power of WSB 750AM at that time.. my Mother would listen to my 15 minute newscast every weeknight.. at her home in Minnesota!!
PRIOR:  My tenure at WSB Radio was from November of 1959.. until April of 1962...(2-1/2 years).. but WSB's influence on my career began early in 1957.. when Bob Peterson (WSB Radio Morning News) Interviewed me at his old school in Minneapolis, MN.  I was a U.S. Navy veteran.. and began broadcasting 6 months earlier (1956) at KANO Radio in Anoka, MN.  Two days after that interview I had been hired as a combo man (Announcer &Engineer) at a new 1000 watt station about to go on the air in Canton, Georgia.  (Broiler Capital of the World!!  but that's another story)   Bob's CO-manager at WCHK was Mike McDougald (WSB Radio Morning Show Host).  From March of 1957.. until October of 1959 when I left for WSB Radio in Atlanta.. I had learned so very much from these two about quality broadcasting.. the integrity of news... and a local radio stations service to a community. They were exceptional people to work for.. and with.

Marcus is a WSB institution.  He joined WSB in 1930 as a part time piano player, bedtime story teller and staff announcer.  In 1940 he finally decided to make WSB his life, where he went on to serve as production director, sports announcer, music director and other odd jobs.  He later made the move to WSB TV.  He moved up the ladder to become executive vice president for Cox Broadcasting.  He retired from Cox Broadcasting in December 1975.  Read the complete history of Marcus Bartlett and hear a clip from a broadcast in the 1930's at our special tribute page.  •Click here for that.

Jimmy is best remembered by his long time friend Elmos Ellis who wrote the following on January 22, 2005:  Jimmy joined WSB, fresh out of the U. of Ga., in the spring of  1940.  I came along a few weeks later.   So he was my first WSB friend.   He and Jo married while they were still in college.  So he was married when WSB hired him. He was a superb news reader and editor.  Very articulate. Careful to get all names and pronunciations correct.  Kept a very close watch on news reports, both domestic and foreign, and was extremely well informed. He anchored major WSB newscasts.  During World War II, he served in the Air Corps as a flight instructor at various air bases in Texas.  Taught many of the
nation's air aces how to fly. When WSB-TV went on the air, he was the first news caster on television in the South, and did the inaugural newscast on WSBTV,  Sept.28, 1948.  He continued to also do newcasting on WSB Radio until promoted to an executive-management sales position with the station. He coached many WSB newly-hired announcers and news reporters.  Supervised commercial production. He was also a talented actor and played roles on many WSB comedy and dramatic productions.  Great sports lover, he worked with a group of WSB staff members doing freelance coverage of sports broadcasts, including auto races.  He was a fine singer, and an active freelance commercial announcer.  I used him continually on freelance work that I produced for both radio and TV. He sang for years in his church choir at Peachtree Road United Methodist church.  He and Jo celebrated their 66th anniversary in 2004.  Two wonderful married and successful daughters.  JoAnne Cooper and Jean Hendrix. and several grandchildren. He was intelligent, had a great sense of humor, one of my oldest and dearest friends.  Elmo Ellis

Elmo Ellis is a legendary dominant figure of the modern broadcasting era at WSB.  An entire page of this web site is now devoted to his career. • Check out the link here for The Story of Elmo Ellis.

Ted is mentioned in a story in the book WELCOME SOUTH BROTHER.  In the summer of 1959, he was a WSB Radiocar reporter and he got a tip on a fire - which turned out to be at his own house!  Luckily, damage was minor.  More to come on Ted soon - so check back!

Ernie was sports director for WSB Radio during his tenure at WSB.  He is now a retired Professor of Journalism at Grady School in Athens. Ernie's wife Mary Ann Hynds worked for a couple of  years in the WSB offices. 
More on Ernie to come!

Lee Jordan had what has been described as a "golden" voice.   He passed away on November 20, 2005 at the age of 80.  His longtime friend Mike McDougald (see his bio below) wrote about his friend Lee Jordan a few days after learning of his passing: