Brendan Keefe, the award-winning 11Alive investigative reporter, is moving to rival CBS46, which is on a hiring spree.
Keefe spent nearly eight years at the NBC affiliate, winning more than 70 regional Emmys and a national Emmy, as well as a raft of other awards including a Peabody. He has more than 120 Emmys in his career.
It’s unusual for reporters to get poached from one station to another. It’s more common for stations to hire anchors, who are more prominent. But Keefe is considered one of the best in his field.
A non-compete clause will keep him off CBS46 for a few months but he will be able to work for other Gray television properties in the interim. Atlanta-based Gray, one of the largest TV station owners in the country, is in 113 markets nationwide.
“We are thrilled to have Brendan join our team, and we’re counting on his excellent track record of policy-changing journalism to continue to help the people of Atlanta, and across the nation,” said WGCL General Manager Erik Schrader in a press release.
Keefe’s multi-year investigation exposing critical failures in the nation’s 911 system resulted in life-saving changes to emergency response protocols across the country and in Georgia, the state created a new agency to oversee 911 funding as a result of his work.
At 11Alive, owned by Tegna, Keefe also was a lead instructor for multimedia journalists at other Tegna stations.
Keefe, before coming to Atlanta in 2014, worked at TV stations in Houston and New York City.
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Credit: 20TH CENTURY STU
Credit: 20TH CENTURY STU
Coco, a rescue dog featured in the “Predator” prequel “Prey” that just came out on Hulu, came from Fulton County Animal Services.
“Prey” focuses on a Comanche warrior Naru (Amber Midthunder) and her canine companion, Sarii, played by Coco. As Naru battles against a deadly extraterrestrial threat, Sarii is by her side to help.
In social media, the shelter wrote “We are SO delighted that Coco found the life she has and is now shining a light on the potential of shelter dogs and what they are capable of — when given a chance.”
The shelter took care of Coco, an American dingo or Carolina dog, in 2021, and she was adopted specifically for the movie. While most dogs in movies have been trained for years, Coco had to learn how to act from scratch.
“Prey” director Dan Trachtenberg told the website Dexerto that Coco was “super rambunctious. Very energetic. Always a nail-biting moment for us on set, ‘Is Coco gonna like, make her mark and do what she needs to do?’ It was sometimes a journey to get there, but eventually she always did. It was very exciting, lots of cheers would happen when we finally got a great take with Coco.”
He gave Coco more things to do as movie production went along: “We were trying to get Coco out of scenes but the opposite ended up being true, and we ended up including her more — even in some of the action set-pieces, because I just thought it’d be so fun.”
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“Saturday Night Live” veteran cast member Kenan Thompson, who grew up in Atlanta, last week received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame not far from the star for “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels.
“It’s just an honor and a privilege going in next to the GOAT Lorne Michaels,” Thompson said.
He wore an all-navy suit and brought his two daughters Georgia and Gianna to the ceremony. His former “SNL” colleague Leslie Jones, friend and comic actor J.B. Smoove and former “Good Burger” castmate Josh Server introduced him.
Thompson began acting at age 5 and is now 44. This fall will be his 20th season at “SNL,” making him the longest-running cast member in the sketch comedy show’s history going back nearly five decades.
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