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 \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI worked at five different stations – two of which were dominant stations and the rest were second in the market, so it was a challenge,\u201d says Caruthers about his successful career. \u201cAnd 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was very committed to the community,\u201d says Rob Martin, news director at WIAT TV in Birmingham. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe absolutely was involved with the community,\u201d says Stephanie Patterson, WAKA general sales manager. \u201cSome of the things he brought to the table were the Golden Apple<\/em>. Another one was called Family First<\/em>. There was one called Giving your Best<\/em> and Protect and Serve. <\/em>And we did the MDA telethon because of him.\u201d<\/p>\n Even though Caruthers was known for his positivity, he didn\u2019t hesitate to stand his ground.<\/p>\n \u201dWhen you’re dealing with 100 different personalities, you know, not everybody’s alike. Not everybody has the same vision that I had,\u201d Caruthers chuckles. \u201cSo sometimes I had to kind of pump them up a little bit. I was firm and straightforward, but I don\u2019t think I was mean about it.\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cJim was tough,\u201d says Rob Martin news director at WIAT. \u201cBut 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe wanted to have fun, and he wanted to make sure people put their families first,\u201d says Patterson. \u201cHe was creative, funny, very relationship oriented. He cheered for his people.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe’d come in the newsroom every morning and he would sit in there and read the newspaper,\u201d says Martin. \u201cAnd people would walk in and he\u2019d say, \u2018Good Morning \u2013 how\u2019s your mama?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s true,\u201d smiles Caruthers. \u201cI 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\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHe’s paved the way for a lot of people in our industry,\u201d says Patterson. \u201cThere’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.\u201d<\/p>\n Now that Caruthers is retired, he\u2019s living a much different life.<\/p>\n \u201cCutting grass, bush hogging my little farm and riding my horse \u2013 that\u2019s what I do now,\u201d Caruthers, smiles. \u201cWe ride for two or three hours and when I get home, I have a glass of wine\u201d! <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Caruthers seems to have lived the good life \u2013 before retirement and after.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a great way to make a living. It was great to work with some really, really nice and fine smart people\u201d. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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 \u2013 and Jim Caruthers is proof. For his long career of making stations the best they can be and … Continue reading Jim Caruthers<\/span>