John Deushane is retiring as WXIA general manager after 13 years

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

11Alive’s John Deushane is retiring as general manager after 13 years

John Deushane, general manager for 11Alive (WXIA-TV), is retiring after a 13-year run at the Atlanta NBC affiliate.

www.ajc.com

John Deushane, general manager for 11Alive (WXIA-TV), is retiring after a 13-year run at the Atlanta NBC affiliate.

“As the walrus said, after 47 years in broadcasting, the time has come,” Deushane, 66, wrote to staff in a memo Tuesday. “Effective August 4th, retirement’s siren call will be answered. While there have been wonderful moments throughout my career, I can without equivocation say that the past 13 years at 11Alive have been the most rewarding. And that’s because of the opportunity to work with so many passionate and dedicated professionals like each of you.”

His tenure is among the longest ever for a general manager at any station in this market.

While the station was unable to make much progress on the ratings front over the years, typically well behind perpetual leaders WSB-TV and WAGA-TV (Fox 5), it would frequently collect the most Southeast Emmy awards. At the most recent ceremony June 17, the affiliate pocketed 17 regional Emmys including overall station excellence. Over his 13-year run, the station collected 236 regional Emmys.