PEACH BUZZ: Atlanta job searches start network’s day

“Good Morning America” workplace contributor Tory Johnson will be live from Atlanta on the ABC morning show today, broadcasting from AmericasMart downtown as she hosts “the earliest job fair in America.” Yes, GMA’s “Great American Job Fair” launches here at 6 a.m. Throughout the 7 to 9 a.m. broadcast, Johnson, the founder of womenforhire.com, will offer tips for the under-employed and provide valuable information to those in an increasingly jittery job market.

“Our original goal was to get 50 employers,” Johnson told Buzz. “The response was incredible. Hundreds of Atlanta employers wanted to get involved.”

Included at the fair: technology companies, retailers, insurance companies and even nonprofits like Habitat for Humanity and YMCA.

As she talked to “hundreds of Atlantans” preparing for today’s broadcast, Johnson learned a few things about the metro area’s employment situation.

“What I sense is that the city of Atlanta went quickly from being optimistic about growth to desperation. Where did the gas go? What’s happened to our city? Atlanta is certainly not alone.”

Johnson says it may be necessary to rewire our spendthrift selves as we move forward.

“Unfortunately, the lessons of the Great Depression were not permanent. But if you lived through it, it became a textbook lesson that was never forgotten. A lot of us may be experiencing that now. We’re determined not to let this happen to us again.”

The “Good Morning America” job fair runs from 6 to 10 a.m. at AmericasMart, Building 2, 240 Peachtree St. N.W.

Ted talks about the good old ’50s

Sure, Ted Turner has been on “Good Morning America,” “60 Minutes” and CNN this week to promote his fascinating new memoir, “Call Me Ted.” But for his visit to “The Late Show With David Letterman,” Ted offered some timely thoughts on the current raggedy state of the economy: “I think we’re going to have to change our lifestyle. And maybe it will be for the good. For the last 40 years, we’ve equated how much we had with how happy we are. Advertising tells us if you buy a big car and a new TV, you’re going to be happier. But I really don’t think we’re happier than we were in the ’50s. Back when we were living within our means and people had savings. We might have to get to know our neighbors and play bridge with them. Maybe some children will have to move back home. On ‘Sanford & Son,’ the father and son lived in the same house. They had a lot of fun.”

Laughing, Letterman then asked if he could move in with the CNN founder.

Ted’s retort: “If you change your name to Turner!”

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Producer-director Garry Marshall is 74. Actress Frances Conroy is 55. Actor Chris Noth is 54. Actress Whoopi Goldberg is 53. Comedian Jimmy Kimmel is 41.

OVERSCENE

Actor Ashton Kutcher surprising wife Demi Moore with “an intimate and elegant” 46th birthday party Tuesday night at Dolce Enoteca, the Atlantic Station eatery he co-owns. (Moore is in town shooting the film “The Joneses” with David Duchovny.) We’re told that the party was decorated in a black and white theme, white candles and lilies on each table. Guests enjoyed dinner followed by red velvet cake, which we hear is Moore’s favorite. The birthday girl wore “a sexy black dress” and stayed close to her hubby, who at one point jumped behind the bar to play sommelier.

Contributing: News services