To go from reporting news to making the news was one of the worst moments in Warren Savage's life.

It was also, he said, one of the best things that could've happened to him.

Not only did he come face to face with who he says he was —- arrogant, egotistical and self-centered —- he came face to face with the God he says he'd forsaken.

For 10 years, Savage was at the top of his game, anchoring the local morning show, "Channel 2 Action News This Morning."

But by September 2005, Savage, now 44, had become disenchanted with the news business and his personal life.

"I got in this business to make a difference, but I wasn't doing that," he said.

That year, without warning, he didn't show up to work, a move he says now "was below my standards of professionalism."

Savage joined a band, playing the bass guitar, and "instead of soaring with the eagles, he was walking with the turkeys," getting high on a line of cocaine in the morning, two at night, he said.

A year later, he ended up on the Forsyth County police blotter, charged with possession of cocaine, a felony.

In late June, he graduated from Forsyth County Drug Court, a program that offers a second chance to drug and alcohol addicts facing jail. The cocaine charge has been dismissed.

"Had I not been arrested I would be dead today or in prison on a much greater charge," he said. "I know God didn't put me in jail, but I found him there to embrace me."

Savage said he was halfway through the county drug court program when he realized it was about more than recovering from addiction. It was a chance to change his life.

He recently answered questions about the turns his life has taken:

Q: What went wrong?

A: I was burnt out, disenchanted. I felt detached from the news business and what it had become. I was losing more editorial battles than I was winning. I started feeling like I was an island in the newsroom. I'd become nothing more than a talking head of crime and negativity, and I felt powerless over that.

Q: Did you ever consider just going to another station?

A: I'd had other opportunities but it occurred to me I'd be going from one place to another, dealing with the same issues and challenges.

Q: So why not change yourself?

A: The one common denominator in all my frustrations was me. I was self-centered, arrogant, egotistical. That was the crux of it. All of that clouded my view of what really mattered. I lost sight of what I meant to those who tuned in to watch me every morning, especially little black boys.

Q: How much did your celebrity play in your downfall?

A: As I started to realize the awesome power that came with the position is when I started to get arrogant. I was 10 feet tall and bulletproof. I lost sight of the impact I had on other people and my responsibility to them.

Q: You started a book drive behind bars. Why?

A: The only reading selections they had were romance novels. I thought that was odd. I also met so many people who had nothing to do; they were idle, so I started the book drive to give them something to expand their minds, mostly self-help books.

Q: So what's in your future?

A: I don't know. I'm just waiting to hear from God.