A solid moral work ethic. A fun guy to be around. A firm managing hand.  A dedication to the community. An unwavering decision maker. A caring boss. Can one man have that many positive characteristics?  Yes – and Jim Caruthers is proof. For his long career of making stations the best they can be and then keeping them there, the ABA is delighted to include Jim Caruthers as a 2026 Broadcasters Hall of Fame inductee.

“I worked at five different stations – two of which were dominant stations and the rest were second in the market, so it was a challenge,” says Caruthers about his successful career. “And you know, the key to it was just to hire good people. Good people that were committed to our vision of growing the station in terms of ratings and respect. A station has to have community respect to be successful. That was primarily what we were doing.”

“He was very committed to the community,” says Rob Martin, news director at WIAT TV in Birmingham. “We had lots of station sponsored events and that followed Jim really through his career as a general manager. He always wanted the station to be out front with sponsored community events.”

“He absolutely was involved with the community,” says Stephanie Patterson, WAKA general sales manager. “Some of the things he brought to the table were the Golden Apple.  Another one was called Family First. There was one called Giving your Best and Protect and Serve. And we did the MDA telethon because of him.”

Even though Caruthers was known for his positivity, he didn’t hesitate to stand his ground.

”When you’re dealing with 100 different personalities, you know, not everybody’s alike. Not everybody has the same vision that I had,” Caruthers chuckles. “So sometimes I had to kind of pump them up a little bit. I was firm and straightforward, but I don’t think I was mean about it.”.

“Jim was tough,” says Rob Martin news director at WIAT.  “But in a way of not accepting less than your very best. But then he had a way of turning it around and being compassionate. He was always offering fatherly advice.”

“He wanted to have fun, and he wanted to make sure people put their families first,” says Patterson. “He was creative, funny, very relationship oriented. He cheered for his people.”

“He’d come in the newsroom every morning and he would sit in there and read the newspaper,” says Martin.  “And people would walk in and he’d say, ‘Good Morning – how’s your mama?’”

“That’s true,” smiles Caruthers. “I tell you what – I love my people. I consider them family. And the newsroom is the heart and soul of a television station. You have to have a quality news staff – quality people that are dedicated to the better good”.

“He’s paved the way for a lot of people in our industry,” says Patterson. “There’s a lot of people who still have longevity in the industry because Jim saw potential in them and mentored them and really gave them the bug to stay in media.”

Now that Caruthers is retired, he’s living a much different life.

“Cutting grass, bush hogging my little farm and riding my horse – that’s what I do now,” Caruthers, smiles.  “We ride for two or three hours and when I get home,  I have a glass of wine”! 

 

Caruthers seems to have lived the good life – before retirement and after.

“It was a great way to make a living. It was great to work with some really, really nice and fine smart people”.