{"id":18471,"date":"2018-08-16T07:26:23","date_gmt":"2018-08-16T13:26:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/?page_id=18471"},"modified":"2024-10-16T06:52:48","modified_gmt":"2024-10-16T12:52:48","slug":"tina-yarbrough-2018-aba-hall-of-fame","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/tina-yarbrough-2018-aba-hall-of-fame\/","title":{"rendered":"Tina Yarbrough – 2018 ABA Hall of Fame"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tina Yarbrough – 2018 ABA Hall of Fame<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Inductees to the Alabama Broadcasting Association\u2019s Hall of Fame are often those who are, quite literally, in the spotlight. But sometimes the honor goes to a behind-the-scenes professional whose list of accomplishments is lengthy to say the least. But perhaps her most important contribution to our industry is her drive to make a difference in the future, infusing three decades of up-and-coming broadcasters with her passion and dedication. For this, the ABA includes Tina Yarbrough as one of the 2018 inductees.<\/p>\n

Tina\u2019s broadcasting career is brought to us by, of all things, a bank robbery.  \u201cI was a teller \u2026 actually the first black Head Teller in any bank in Birmingham.  I was there during a serious shooting,\u201d she explains. \u201cBen McKinnon, WSGN\u2019s GM, was one of my customers and shortly after the shooting he asked me if I\u2019d like a job that would get me out of the line of fire.  And I did,\u201d she laughs.<\/p>\n

Ask Tina about the progression of her broadcasting career from that point and you get a modest summary.  \u201cIn radio, I went from receptionist to a traffic position to on-air doing public affairs \u2013 which is what I did when I moved to television and that turned into the Programming and Operations Director position at what was WBMG at that time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a brief run in television sales at WVTM-TV, but moved to WTTO-TV to be the  Director of Programming and Operations at the sign-on of Alabama\u2019s first independent television station. <\/b><\/strong>  Then I went to the NBC affiliate in Mobile where I was Marketing Director for a while.  I went to Washington, DC because it was a major market and I wanted to learn what that was like – I was the Assistant Director of Programming and Operations for the Paramount Station there and then I came back to Birmingham in 1994 as the Program Director of WVTM.  I came to WIAT in 2006, where I now handle Community Affairs and FCC Compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tina is low key about all her accomplishments. Even when telling you that she was the first black woman in Birmingham radio, one of the very first black women in Birmingham television as well as the first black woman to hold a Program Director position at any CBS affiliate in the country.<\/b><\/strong>  Her style is unpresumptuous.<\/p>\n

To understand what really matters to Yarbrough, just ask her about the \u201ckids\u201d \u2013 the dozens of interns she\u2019s had throughout the years, many who have stayed in touch.  That\u2019s when she gets excited.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the summer interns working here now is a kid from Georgia and I have just loved watching the light bulb go off in his head,\u201d says Yarbrough. \u201cWe\u2019ve been talking all summer about writing and we\u2019re listening to a network tease and instead of me explaining to him why they used the words they used, he starts explaining it to me<\/i><\/em>! His eyes are shining \u2026 he gets it! Another one, also from Georgia, is so smart and quick, and gets what having a work ethic really means, even as a millennial; I\u2019m just waiting to see how high in this industry <\/b><\/strong>she is going to reach. She\u2019s headed to some major news organization I\u2019m sure.  These kids make all of the headaches worth it,\u201d she laughs.<\/p>\n

Yarbrough gets serious as she discusses her goals for the interns. \u201cI try with the kids to get them to know how important it is that we have free television in the United States and don\u2019t take it for granted. The free press makes a big difference in our society and it\u2019s not a given that it will always be around.  I want our young people who are coming along to have a background and foundation they can use to protect something that is very important.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked what the Hall of Fame induction means to her, Yarbrough is once again humble and somewhat reserved.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess it means that I\u2019m noticed after all. That maybe it all mattered,\u201d she says quietly. \u201cThis is not one of those pat you-on-the-back, every day, thank you jobs. So the fact that somebody noticed and that it mattered \u2026  it\u2019s something that I am very grateful to know.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Inductees to the Alabama Broadcasting Association\u2019s Hall of Fame are often those who are, quite literally, in the spotlight. But sometimes the honor goes to a behind-the-scenes professional whose list of accomplishments is lengthy to say the least. But perhaps her most important contribution to our industry is her drive to make a difference in … Continue reading Tina Yarbrough – 2018 ABA Hall of Fame<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-18471","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18471"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32612,"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18471\/revisions\/32612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}