WIAT co-anchor Art Franklin is leaving the Birmingham, Ala. CBS affiliate because he wants to “relaunch [his] entrepreneurial engagements.”
“I am looking forward to remaining in the Birmingham area and being a part of the city’s exciting present and future opportunities,” said Franklin, who has been at WIAT since 2016 and launched his own menswear collection through local clothier Treś’ Fine Clothing in late November.
Franklin first came to Birmingham in 1991 as an anchor for WBRC. After 12 years, he went to work at Atlanta stations WXIA and then WAGA before returning to Birmingham.
“Art has been a valuable member of our CBS 42 News team since his arrival, for his strong journalist skills, his passion for our community and his leadership behind the scenes in our newsroom,” WIAT news director Rob Martin told Al.com. “We will miss working with him and being with him every day, but we look forward to his future accomplishments.”
“Art Franklin’s service to our community as a journalist and as a leader is inspirational to anyone who knows him—and we at CBS 42 have had the privilege to have worked with him over the past few years,” said James Cromwell, WIAT vice president and general manager. “We wish him great success in all of his endeavors. We look forward to highlighting his accomplishments and contributions over the next few weeks.”
“God’s not finished with me yet,” Franklin said. “You may have heard that phrase and I believe that. There’s still more to do and part of that is what I’m doing now by launching this [clothing] collection because God’s still working—and He’s like, ‘We’ve got a long way to go here.’”
Franklin’s last day on air will be Friday, April 29.