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WSB Radio’s Mike Kavanagh dies

Monday, December 8th, 2008

WSB Radio host Mike Kavanagh, a 40-year broadcast veteran and host of the station’s Money Matters show, died unexpectedly on Saturday. He was 57.

According to Condace Pressley, WSB’s assistant program director, Kavanagh suffered a heart attack while decorating the family Christmas tree.

From WSB:

Said [Lisa Campbell, Kavanagh's former co-anchor], “Mike was an incredible talent, a good human-doing, my longtime co-anchor, but most of all, my dear, dear friend. I will miss sharing our stories, and hearing about how much he loved Grace. There will never be another Kavanagh.”

A certified financial planner since the 1990s, Kavanagh was known for his ability to help listeners sort through red tape, even e-mailing listeners long, thorough pieces of advice. He lived a notable career, as well:

His long career included work in Washington D.C. and New York as well as Atlanta. In addition to local radio and TV, Mike worked in the early days of CNN both as a radio anchor for daily business news and as a TV anchor for CNN Headline News.

Kavanagh won numerous awards, including the prestigious Edward R. Murrow award for the investigative report, “Ripped off in the Name of God” a series which exposed multi-million dollar investment scams. He also worked as part of the team backing up noted consumer advocate Clark Howard.

WSB says donations to Kavanagh’s favorite charity, Friends of Disabled Adults and Children, can be made in his name. Funeral arrangements are pending.

(Photo courtesy of WSB Radio)

Atlanta blogs today

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008

— The election is less than a week away and, somewhere, the real housewives of Atlanta are plotting “strategery” to protect their Benjamins from being spread around. But after last night’s fund-raiser fiasco, let’s hope their plans don’t include an A-List party to raise last-minute cash for Johnny Mac. At Politits, Dcup tells them where they, and those like them, can go.

— Spread the wealth … Joe the plumber wasn’t happy with that idea either and neither is Jason Pye. However well intended, he writes, it is a socialistic concept. Pye would rather see spending cut across the board.

— My favorite J-Mac quote from 2000, back when a maverick was really a maverick: “Sooner or later, people are going to figure out if all you run is negative attack ads, you don’t have much of a vision for the future or you’re not ready to articulate it.” Hmmm. Jill Chambers, a Republican in good standing, should take note. DriftGrift discusses her desperation tactics to keep her House seat.

— Halloween is near. People create ghoulish scenes. And … please keep the politics out of it. Amy at Georgia Women Vote is no fan of Caribou Barbie. But a noose around the neck of the clothes queen? Definitely not cool.

— Want a summation of the difference between J-Mac and “that one”? The lovely Sara at Going Through The Motions puts things into perspective with the tale of two Ashleys. I remember the Ashley moment. It’s when I began to swing towards “that one.”

— Another national tragedy that the pols seem to relish is the slow death of traditional journalism. And it’s not just newspapers. As Live Apartment News notes, WSB radio just laid off two of its most experienced news reporters. Has anyone noticed that Atlanta is a town teeming with unemployed, award-winning journalists?