This was posted Friday, March 31, 2017 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com from his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
"Big Sexy" Jim Basile, traffic reporter on the Ryan Cameron Morning Show with Wanda Smith on V-103, had his final day on air today the morning after a stupendous bridge collapse on I-85.
Cameron joked that Basile wanted to leave big. And you can't get much bigger than this disaster.
Basile is not actually an employee of V-103. As a traffic reporter, he is part of Total Traffic, which provides traffic serves to different media outlets. But CBS Radio, which owns V-103, has changed to rival company Radiate Media. Today was V-103's final day using Total Traffic.
For now, Basile remains with Total Traffic, with plans to primarily do behind-the-scenes work and fill in on different radio and TV stations in Atlanta and other markets for now. (He has one regular gig for a Birmingham station.)
He is the longest-running traffic reporter in town, having worked in Atlanta since 1985. He spent 12 years at 11Alive News from 1999 to 2011 .
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
So why is Basile nicknamed "Big Sexy?" That was a name Cameron made up for him 20 years ago when Cameron worked at Hot 97.5 (now 107.9). Over that time, Basile said he has definitely gotten "bigger" but he's not sure about "sexier." ("You'd have to ask my wife," he said, with a chuckle.)
He said the funniest moment came back when he was providing traffic to 11Alive during the "Today" show when then-host Katie Couric was there and 11Alive anchor Jill Becker off-handedly told Couric that Basile was "Big Sexy." There was dead air. Then Couric said, "Okay, Jill, if you say so!"
And in case you find that nickname familiar, maybe you know the new Braves pitcher Bartolo Colon. He is also called "Big Sexy" and he's pitching tonight at SunTrust Park in the last exhibition game of the year for the Braves and first ever game at that park.
Basile said he enjoyed his time on V-103 for the past three years with Cameron and Wanda Smith. "They were two of the finest people I've ever worked with," he said. "They are class acts."
He added that he has no idea how long it will be before that portion of I-85 is repaired but he does think it will be a boon for MARTA.
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