Posted Saturday, December 30, 2017 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Here are the 25 most popular stories of the year off my blog.
There was just a single item related to "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" and "The Walking Dead" was a no show. Seven focused on local news personalities, two about Amanda Davis. Six were about radio, three related to Tom Joyner and J. Anthony Brown. Two focused on Molly Hopkins on TLC's "90 Day Fiance." One blog entry has appeared in the top 10 three years in a row. And amazingly, an "American Idol" story popped up.
1- Amanda Davis passes away from a massive stroke (12/27/17): Saddest story of the year, no contest.
2- J. Anthony Brown on his Tom Joyner departure: 'It was not a salary dispute' (12/1/16): This blog entry was actually posted in December, 2016 but remained steadily popular throughout 2017. And Brown's job security is far greater as a result, too, now that he's moved to Steve Harvey. Joyner is retiring and has already lost his Atlanta affiliate.
3- Valerie Hoff off 11Alive resigns after jokingly using the N-word in private exchange with viewer (4/29/17) This messiness drew a lot of attention because of the racial element to it and proves that anything you write to anybody is never technically private.
4- Constance Jones abruptly leaves Fox 5 and 'Good Day Atlanta' (5/17/17): Although Jones was only on Fox 5 for a year, her many fans clearly wondered what happened to her when she left. I didn't really have an answer and still don't have any answer, but she is now a Miami correspondent for an upcoming TLC lifestyle talk show.
5 - J. Anthony Brown joins Steve Harvey's morning show (3/22/17): See the top entry.
6- Todd Chrisley may now live in Nashville but he owes money in Georgia (2/9/17): He may have moved to Nashville but Chrisley's show airs constantly on USA Network. I know when it's one by the fact this story gets every so often gets a boost of traffic.
7- Exclusive: Ryan Cameron and his wife Kysha have divorced after 16 years (7/14/17) The V-103 morning host kept this one quiet as long as he could, but I heard enough about it that he released a brief statement and that was all. The details of what happened behind the scenes? I have very little definitive and nothing on the record.
9- Check out the homes of 'The Real Housewives of Atlanta' cast (2/21/17) I knew this would be one of those stories that would do well over a long period of time. It has. The women's homes are highlighted frequently on the show.
10-Did Alan Kay win History's 'Alone' and $500,000? (8/20/15) Over 28 months, the blog entry has been the gift that kept on giving. It's been in my top 10 three years in a row! To date, it has generated 314,000 page views. Thank you, Alan Kay and the History Channel!
11- 'Growing Up Hip Hop Atlanta' cast includes Bow Wow (4/6/17): This show's cast when we interviewed them in the spring were less than engaging, but it did well enough to merit a second season coming in January.
12- CNN's Brooke Baldwin engaged to British producer (7/27/17): I happened to be in New York City in July and met Baldwin briefly and got to talk to her about her engagement, which had popped up on social media a few days earlier. CNN viewers clearly are curious about her marital status and my story pops up high on search engines.
13- Colleagues past and present mourn Amanda Davis' sudden death (12/27/17)
14- Who won "The Rap Game" season 3? (4/8/17) Not many folks cover this Atlanta-based reality competition show so any story I write about it tends to do well off Google.
15- Meet the newest 'Little Women Atlanta" cast member Tanya Scott (1/4/17): See "The Rap Game."
16- Chief meteorologist Jim Kosek and four others out at CBS46 (6/23/17) This TV station is like a soap opera and people love to keep track of all the comings and goings.
17- Sharon Reed of CBS46 calls out viewer using the N-word (12/6/17) Reed is like the Susan Lucci of the CBS46 soap opera.
18- Atlanta's Molly Hopkins of "Double Divas" fame on "90 Day Fiance" (10/4/17)
19- Tom Joyner off Kiss; Art Terrell takes over with Roy Wood Jr. (11/27/17)
20- Steve Harvey moving radio operations from Atlanta to Los Angeles (2/3/17) Harvey planted himself in Atlanta for a time but most of his work now is on the West Coast.
21- Mark Harmon, formerly of CBS46, loses GPB gig, house burns down (3/7/17) This poor guy lost his job and house almost at the same time.
22- "American Idol" notes: Katy Perry as judge, Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson on 'The Voice' (5/18/17)
23- Atlanta-based shows cancelled: 'Home Free,' 'Atlanta Plastic,' 'Born Again Virgin' (4/7/17)
24-Molly Hopkins on why she hid her marriage from '90 Day Fiance' (12/19/17)
25- Ben Swann's Truth in Media site down, Twitter, Instagram, FB accounts gone (2/1/17)
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