The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Strickland retiring from Channel 2 Action News after 20 years
Consumer investigative reporter Jim Strickland is planning to retire in February after nearly 20 years at Channel 2 Action News.
He helped launch the station’s consumer investigative franchise in 1999. Strickland’s investigations over the years have shut down unscrupulous medical clinics, led to federal raids of illegally-run businesses and facilitated sweeping regulation of the city of Atlanta’s car booting industry.
“He’s exposed countless rip-offs and scams and he’s made a real difference in helping people in Georgia protect their money and families,” said Misti Turnbull, news director who has worked at WSB for about the same time period as Strickland. “We are thrilled he can now enjoy a wellearned retirement.”
Strickland said at age 59, he felt it was time to move on after 38 years in the business.
“I’ve been doing this since before Ronald Reagan got shot,” he said in an interview. (Reagan was nearly assassinated by John Hinckley Jr. in March, 1981. Strickland started at a Dubuque, Iowa, radio station a few weeks before that.) “This is a hard job. The hours are wacky. The hours are long. I live in west Cobb, 30 miles door to door each way.”
At the same time, he said, “it’s very rewarding, don’t get me wrong. It’s an exceptionally rewarding job. You get to a certain age, though, and it just wears a little bit.”
He takes great pride in pushing Atlanta into revamping its car booting regulations but said he’ll likely be remembered for the “dancing doctor” story, which happened just a few months ago.
A Gwinnett dermatologist Dr. Windell DavisBoute agreed to relinquish her medical license for at least two and a half years after Strickland exposed her many malpractice lawsuits. What made the story go worldwide? The music videos she made dancing while performing surgery.
“It’s the first time I think I’ve been quoted in China,” he mused. “My friend Steve Osunsami put it on ‘Good Morning America’ day after day using our video.”
He said once he wraps up full-time work with the station in a few weeks, he plans to spruce up his golf game, take a cruise and attend his son’s wedding on Tybee Island in April. But given his relative youth, Strickland said he isn’t counting out doing some freelance and contract work for the station in the future.
WSB-TV and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution are both part of Cox Media Group.