Atlanta Fox owned station Fox 5 has eliminated what Atlanta Journal Constitution called “its vaunted I-Team, a fixture in Atlanta journalism for 48 years.”
Media writer Rodney Ho said that two on-air investigative reporters Johnny Edwards and Dana Fowle, along with photojournalist and producer A.J. Willen have been let go.
“I am nothing but grateful for my time with Fox,” Willen wrote on social media. “It fills my heart to reflect on the impact we made as a team. So many memories forged by the privilege we earn grinding the front lines of history. The best team.”
The I-Team began in 1977 as “The Special Unit” when broadcast TV was raking in money and investigative journalism was on the rise following Watergate. Although Atlanta news stations had previously employed investigative reporters, WAGA-TV marketed a full-fledged team. Theoriginal reporters were Richard Belcher and Jim Axel.
“It’s like a death in the family,” said Belcher, who spent many years at WAGA-TV before jumping to No. 1 station Channel 2 Action News (WSB-TV) in 1990, where he worked until he retired in 2022.
AJC
Yesterday, we reported that Fox Television Stations eliminated the assistant news director position at its Seattle station. Earlier this month, it did the same with the sports anchor position at its Houston station.
We asked Fox for comment but have yet to hear back.
