Posted on Wednesday, October 4, 2017 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Stephany Fisher, a CBS46 evening anchor from 2003 to 2015, is now manager of communications at MARTA.
"I was ready to get back to work," Fisher said in a phone interview while she was at her desk at MARTA headquarters at Lindbergh Station. "I had a couple of years off. With my daughter going off to college, I just thought I wanted something to do. I wanted to contribute and use my skills and I thought I'd venture into this world."
She said she's got a lot to learn but "so far, so good. They've been very welcoming."
The biggest adjustment, besides normal work hours, is the fact work doesn't always have to be done immediately. "I'm so deadline oriented," she said. "You mean I don't have to do that project until next month? Or the first of the year? I can get more time?"
Fisher, since she left CBS46 (WGCL-TV) two years ago, has done some freelance work for the Washington Post and the Investigation Discovery Channel. She has also been a guest coordinator for the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. The time off, she said, allowed her more quality time with her teen-age daughter. "I enjoyed every minute of it," she said.
While at the CBS affiliate, she survived multiple news directors and general managers at CBS46, which has continued to see persistent turnover. She was effectively the face of the station during that time period until new general manager Mark Pimental overhauled nearly the entire anchor staff in 2015.
Fisher harbors no ill will toward CBS46 for letting her go. "I loved very much what I did," she said. "I don't look back and regret anything. It was their decision to part ways. I respect that they no longer wanted to have a partnership with me."
She said every day, people recognize her but many think she's still on the air. "It shows how seldom a lot of people actually watch local news," she said.
