Diana Davis retires from Channel 2 Action News after 32 years

Mike Dreaden, the news director, said she was a strong writer and solid storyteller and "all-around good reporter. Whatever the assignment, she always got the story and did a great job of putting it together in a compelling way.  Even though she spent many years as our medical reporter, she could cover any kind of story."

Dreaden said she started in the business at a time when women were a distinct minority in the newsroom, "so she had to prove herself in what was at the time primarily a man’s world and she did."

"We were sad to see her go," he added, "but it’s also a great thing to have people build the biggest part of their career and success at WSB-TV and stay with it long enough to earn their retirement.  This is a volatile, tough business and many people don’t make it through to the end.  She can be proud that she did and that she leaves a record of excellent broadcast journalism and contributions to the success of this newsroom."

Monica Pearson, who worked as an anchor at WSB-TV from 1975 through 2012, called Davis "one of the best medical reporters we've ever had in this market. She could take a very difficult topic and humanize it."

She recalled Davis being the first in town to air a special on Alzheimer's disease called "The Long Goodbye."

"She was able to be a conduit, that bridge between the doctor and the possible patient or viewer," Pearson said. "Very few people could do that. She had a way of drawing out people's emotions and their needs and doing it in a way that still maintained their respect and integrity."

Davis joined WSB-TV in 1983 from St. Louis.

At WSB-TV, she won three Emmys, four awards for "Best Specialty Reporting" from the Associated Press and the AMA National Medical Reporting Award.

Born in Mineola, N.Y., she graduated from the College of Wooster, in Ohio, with a BA in History of Art.