By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed December 11, 2011
Veteran 11 Alive anchor Brenda Wood, flying solo as an anchor at 6 p.m. the past few months since Ted Hall moved to mornings, has been given a new co-anchor from New York City: DeMarco Morgan.
Morgan starts at the NBC affiliate January 2.
Hall replaced retired Jill Becker in the mornings so Morgan is not displacing anybody.
Morgan will co anchor the 6 p.m. with Wood and do reporting for the 11 p.m. news.
He worked as a weekend anchor and reporter at WNBC in New York City since 2008. There, he occasionally got to sub in for anchor Chuck Scarborough, a legendary anchor at that station going back to 1974, a longer run than Monica Pearson. Morgan's previous stints were in Miami, Milwaukee and Jackson, Miss.
“I’m excited,” Morgan said in an interview Tuesday afternoon. “This is an opportunity to anchor during the week. This is a chance to work with Brenda. She’s a legend. I can learn from her. And I love the South. I went to school in the South.”
He said he could have stayed in New York, the No. 1 market, if this decision was driven by pure ego. But he feels he can grow at WXIA-TV. “New York has been good to me,” he said. “They wanted me to stay. It’s always good to leave on your own terms.”
As a single guy, he said he’s also looking to settle down and find a “Southern belle” of his own. And he’s looking forward to some good ol’ soul food. “I’m praying I don’t get too big,” he said.
"DeMarco is a tenacious and aggressive reporter and an engaging and effective news anchor that makes it his mission to be involved with the community he serves," said Ellen Crooke, 11Alive's Vice President of News and Information, in a press release.
In his WNBC bio, he provides this motto from an African Proverb: "Care more than others think is wise. Risk more than others think is safe. Dream more than others think is practical. And expect more than others think is possible."
