Posted on Tuesday, December 5, 2017 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
On the House floor Monday, a Florida congresswoman honored Jamie Dupree, a veteran Washington D.C. radio correspondent for Cox Media Group, including News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB.
Dupree has been suffering from vocal issues since July, 2016 and has been unable to speak on the air. Nonetheless, he continues to work, providing audio for Cox Media Group radio stations and keeping readers up to date on political happenings via social media and his blog.
Florida Rep. lleana Ros-Lehtinen described his medical condition, a rare malady called Tongue Protrusion Dystonia, which makes it difficult for Dupree to speak for any length of time. She noted that there is no known cure. But she said she has worked with Dupree for more than two decades and admires his work as a journalist.
"Jamie Dupree is a perfect example of the positive role that devoted and professional journalists play in our free society and I wish him and his family all the best during this most difficult time," Ros-Lehtinen said.
WSB Program Director Pete Spriggs said Dupree remains an integral part of the news team: "He's still working harder than he ever did before."
He said he has been hunting for a cure all over the country but to no avail. His condition is so rare there isn't a specialist for it. He is managing the best that he can under the adverse circumstances:
And now with another Christmas season almost here, I'm still furiously working in the halls of Congress, feeding interviews to my company's radio stations and blogs to our newspapers and other media properties.
And I'm still trying to talk.
Hopefully, 2018 will bring about a different story line.
WSB and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution are both part of Cox Media Group.
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