Exclusive: Vinnie Politan leaving 11Alive after four-plus years

Originally posted Wednesday, October 31, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog

Vinnie Politan has decided to leave 11Alive after four-plus years. His final day is Thursday.

In an interview Wednesday, he said he is leaving voluntarily and noted he is tired of the late hours and not seeing his 15-year-old son much on work days.

“I’ve had a good time at 11Alive,” Politan said, grateful for their efforts to innovate.

The former prosecutor and HLN host said he is going to take a couple of months to rest up before seeking a new job. He said he loves TV and would like to continue in some capacity. His agent recently retired and he will seek another one.

Politan said he doesn’t plan to do anything fancy on his last night with “The Late Feed” but will give his 269,000 Twitter followers and 164,000 Facebook friends a video message after Thursday night.

He joined the station in 2014 hosting a revamped morning show called "Atlanta Alive."

He moved to a special 11 p.m. news program called the "Late Feed" last year, which tried to shake up the genre with a panel discussion, fewer stories and an urgent, high-energy tone.

At first, Politan was the lead anchor on the show, but lately, Politan has become a secondary cog. Instead, Ron Jones has taken over as the lead anchor. Natisha Lance has been a co anchor.

“The Late Feed” has seen ratings fall from its previous, more traditional incarnation. The station had a 0.6 rating and a 2 share at 11 p.m. in October, same as it was a year ago and down from a 0.9 rating and 3 share in October, 2016. It finishes well behind Channel 2 Action News and Fox 5.