‘Survivor’ winner Savannah Louie returns to Atlanta’s WANF with a new job
Savannah Louie, “Survivor” Season 49 winner, is returning to her former employer, Atlanta News First, on June 1, co-hosting the magazine show “ATL Live.”
Louie previously worked as a reporter and anchor for WANF-TV from 2021 to 2024. She will be a part-time employee in a role that enables her to also pursue speaking engagements, endorsements and appearances.
“This is an innovative partnership that allows her to continue to thrive globally as a creator, speaker and reality TV star,” said Josh Morey, WANF’s creative services director who oversees “ATL Live.”
He lauded her “as someone who has a great attitude and great work ethic. We’re excited to have her in the building with our team.”
“ATL Live” is a 4-year-old hybrid show that blends advertiser-sponsored interview segments with more traditional talk-show content, like celebrity interviews, cooking demonstrations and on-site coverage of local events. The hourlong show airs daily at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
NBC affiliate 11Alive was the first station in Atlanta to launch this pay-for-play concept, in 2005, with “Atlanta & Company,” which still airs daily at noon.
“It feels like a full-circle moment,” Louie said from Los Angeles, where she is going to appear Wednesday on the finale of Season 50 of “Survivor” on CBS. “I thought I was done with TV news, but I missed it. With this show, I get to do something uplifting and help build community.”
She will be joined by Ava Braatz, who became a co-host last October, coming from a station in Greenville, South Carolina. The show’s previous hosts included Andrew Tyree, Becky Sattero and Jobina Fortson-Evans, who left last year for CBS Atlanta, where she is now a morning host.
Last fall, Louie pocketed $1 million after being crowned “Survivor” victor for its 49th Season. She won challenges when she needed to, found the right allies and became known for her unusually blunt social game when players typically opt for subtlety and guile. Producers liked her so much she was cast for the Season 50, which featured all former players.
She had just nine days back in Atlanta before going back to Fiji for Season 50. She spent much of that break with her boyfriend, focused on replenishing her starved body. “I came back craving sandwiches,” she said, making multiple visits to Pala in Buckhead. “I ate as much as I could. It was a burst of normalcy between two crazy periods of my life.”
Unfortunately, Louie was the second person voted out on Season 50. “Everybody on my tribe knew I had won the game before; I even told them,” she said. “I totally get they wanted to get rid of me as soon as possible.”
Her closest confidant from Season 49, Rizo Velovic, is in the final five and has a shot to win the $2 million Wednesday night. She is rooting for him and the two remaining women, Aubry Bracco and Tiffany Ervin. “I’m a big fan of the strong women,” she said.
Louie was with Atlanta News First when it was a CBS affiliate. Her departure from the station enabled her to be on “Survivor” without a conflict of interest. Last year, WANF went independent, and CBS created its own news operation on WUPA-TV, a former CW station it already owned.
Her social media presence was a factor in her hire as WANF tries to get its content in front of as many eyeballs as possible, Morey said.
“We have to look at audience acquisition differently than some of our competitors in town,” he said, including a reliance on local sports like the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Dream. “We aren’t just serving our core daytime viewers. We are bringing in a new generation of viewers into that broadcast window and into our stream. We want an engaged audience who followed Savannah’s journey on ‘Survivor.’”
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
