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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2007 > June > 25 > Entry
Monica’s new husband ‘hates reporters’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Southeastern Emmy Awards on Saturday night bestowed its top Governors Award to Monica Pearson for 32 years of service on Atlanta TV airwaves. And yes, her on-air name change from Monica Kaufman last year after she married John Pearson Sr. is still a topic of conversation.
“Some thought management was crazy” to change her name, WSB-TV news director Marian Pittman said on the dais at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Buckhead. “We got e-mails. We got phone calls. ‘What are you thinking?’ Well, if you’re in my chair or the GM’s chair, it’s easy. All we need is Monica. Some people don’t need a last name. And if you met her husband, you know why she changed it!”
The camera jumped to John Pearson, a DeKalb County police captain, and he sat stone-faced for several seconds before (barely) cracking a smile.
Rodney Ho/AJC staff
Longtime WSB-TV anchorwoman Monica Pearson (formerly Kaufman) chats with WGCL-TV’s Adam Murphy.
The anchorwoman, in an elegant white dress and cropped hair, thanked WSB and Karyn Greer of WXIA-TV for nominating her. Then she thanked her hubby for breaking a rule about media types.
“He hates reporters,” Pearson said. “Literally hates reporters. It took him a year for a girlfriend to talk him into going out with me!”
Many of the top awards went to stations outside Atlanta. (The Southeastern Emmys cover Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Asheville, N.C.) Fox affiliate WAGA-TV won for top daily newscast in a Top 25 market. Turner Broadcasting took home 16 awards, while NBC’s WXIA-TV grabbed 11 and Fox Sports South nabbed eight. Blair Meeks of WXIA won as best live on-camera reporter for the second year in a row.
NEW KITCHEN AHEAD FOR CELEBRITY CHEF
Buzz ran into charismatic chef Marvin Woods, who hosted the popular Turner South show “Home Plate,” which ended its run last year when the network was sold to Fox. He was nominated for best non-news on-camera talent but didn’t win.
Woods, who moved to Atlanta from South Florida last year, still has ties with Turner: He has a development deal with Cartoon Network. And he’s also working with Atlanta Public Schools on a nutritional education program he calls “Droppin’ Knowledge.”
After his short-lived stint at Midtown’s now-defunct Spice, Woods said he now has a chance to run his own restaurant in a downtown space about a block from the Ritz-Carlton, which he hopes to open in the fall. He doesn’t have the name pinned down yet, but it will seat about 180.
“It’s going to be eclectic ethnic,” Woods said. “Caribbean, African, Southern.”
ANOTHER ATLANTAN GETS RAMSAY BOOT
For the second week in a row, “Hell’s Kitchen” hellion Gordon Ramsay booted a metro Atlantan off the Fox reality show. In last Monday’s episode, it was Joanna Dunn, 22, of Roswell, the youngest contestant.
Ramsay tossed her for not smelling bad crab and almost serving it to the customers. “He said to make sure you check and double-check and taste the food,” Dunn told Buzz. “That one incident, I didn’t.”
Dunn now teaches at the Publix Apron’s Cooking School in Alpharetta. The Detroit native moved here from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina but enjoys it here, noting that it’s a good place to become a chef and perhaps break into TV.
One more Atlantan remains: former Waffle House cook Julia Williams. “She’s an amazing person,” Dunn said. “The world is going to see a lot of her.”
RANDOM BITS
After all the brouhaha over NBC and ABC trying to pay Paris Hilton for a sit-down interview, CNN’s Larry King is getting her for free Wednesday, the day after she leaves jail. The hotel heiress is serving a 45-day sentence for violating probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case… . Rapper Foxy Brown, who’s on probation for assault and facing a battery charge in a separate case, had another brush with violence over the weekend. But this time she was the victim, police said. Four people teamed up to rob the racy rapper of a Louis Vuitton bag, $500 in cash and credit cards around 5:30 a.m. Saturday in Brooklyn, police said.
HIGH FIVE
Dave FM
The rock station swapped out program directors Friday. Here are the five most played songs in the past week.
- “What Light,” Wilco
2. “How to Save a Life,” the Fray
3. “9 Crimes,” Damian Rice
4. “You Know I’m No Good,” Amy Winehouse (below)
5. “Thinking About You,” Norah Jones
— Mediabase 24/7
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Carly Simon is 62. Actor Jimmie Walker is 60. Actor Ricky Gervais (above) is 46. Singer George Michael is 44. Actress Angela Kinsey (“The Office”) is 36.
LATE NIGHT JOKES
“There’s a video of Kobe Bryant trashing his fellow Lakers. The good news? This is the first evidence that Kobe’s even aware there’s other members on the team.”
— Jay Leno, June 21
“This week, Ozzy Osbourne sold his mansion in Los Angeles. Ozzy said he had to sell the house because, he said, ‘I could never find it.’ ”
— Conan O’Brien (right), June 21
“Great day for Hillary Clinton. She chose the song for her campaign, a song by Celine Dion. Is it wise choosing a Celine Dion song? She’s a singer best known for doing a song based on a sinking ship.”
— Craig Ferguson, June 19
Contributing: news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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