The man who became Charlotte’s “first permanent TV anchor” has died. Doug Mayes died Sunday morning at 93, reports his former station, Charlotte ABC affiliate WSOC.
“With a courtly manner and a backwoods Tennessee twang, Doug Mayes launched the first generation of local TV news in the Carolinas, leaving a distinguished imprint perceptible six decades later,” said the Charlotte Observer in an obituary today.
Mayes joined CBS station WBTV in 1952 as host of “Your Esso Reporter,” a 15-minute newscast. His move to WSOC in 1982 was a seismic event, having been the face of WBTV for years. “Mayes would come to define the first generation of television news anchors – bigger-than-life figures whose images and voices were familiar in nearly every living room in their broadcast area.”