“Game On with Katie B. Davis,” the popular sports talk program on WDUN, is expanding to three hours and changing stations as part of Jacobs Media’s efforts to give local listeners more relevant news and sports coverage on its stations.
Also, Russell Brown has been named the new host of WDUN’s “Afternoon News Wrap,” a two-hour daily program of news and information. He will replace Derreck Booth, whose role in managing the newsroom is expanding.
Both changes are effective August 3.
“These moves are a wonderful opportunity to showcase some exceptional talent and to bring new and varied local programming to our listeners in North Georgia,” said Jay Jacobs, president and CEO of Jacobs Media. “Katie B. is well loved in the community, and by expanding ‘Game On with Katie B. Davis’ to three hours, she will have the opportunity showcase more local sports than ever before.”
Jacobs added, “We are fortunate to have someone of Russell’s talent join our team. He’s an experienced broadcaster, who has a number of exciting ideas for our afternoon show. I’m confident Russell’s talent and enthusiasm will benefit our listeners.
“Game On with Katie B. Davis” is moving to 1240 ESPN Radio, the company’s all-sports station, and will air from 10 a.m.- 1 p.m. Monday-Friday. Besides broadcasting on the over-the-air station, “Game On with Katie B. Davis” also will be available via live streaming on AccessWDUN.com, WDUN.com and the AccessWDUN smartphone app.
In addition to hosting the expanded program, Davis will also provide sports reports each half hour during “Morning News with Bill & Joel,” which airs 5:30-9 a.m. on WDUN AM550 and FM102.9.
Davis, a veteran sports writer and columnist, began hosting “Game on with Katie B. Davis” in January 2013. She also hosts “The Burger King Tailgate Show” and “The Hardy Chevrolet Scoreboard Show” during high school football season.
"It's a vast understatement to say I'm excited about the opportunities that come with an expanded ‘Game On with Katie B. Davis’ when we move to 1240 ESPN Radio,” Davis said. “Being on ‘The Sports Leader,’ will mean more audience interaction because sports fans like myself are listening; and with the new elements that are going to be a part of the show, it will be difficult for listeners to not want to join in. Also, and this to me is the bottom line, a three-hour local and regional sports talk show lends itself to more topics being covered, more coaches being interviewed and more athletes being highlighted: how can that not pump you up?”
Davis is a Gainesville native, where she played four sports – softball, basketball, soccer and track and field – at Gainesville High School. She played Division I college basketball at Austin Peay State University for one year, before transferring to Presbyterian College, where she played out the remainder of her eligibility.
She joined Jacobs Media in 2010. Prior to joining Jacobs Media, she was a sports reporter and columnist at The Times in Gainesville.
When “Game On with Katie B. Davis” moves to 1240 ESPN Radio, the “Afternoon News Wrap” will expand to two hours, airing from 5-7 p.m. on WDUN AM550 and FM102.9. Russell Brown, the newest member of the WDUN news team will anchor the broadcast, which will be a mix of live and recorded interviews and features of interest to North Georgians.
Brown comes to WDUN from CBT News in Atlanta, where he spent three years as lead anchor for the network's daily video broadcast highlighting retail automotive industry news. While at the CBT Automotive Network, Russell interviewed some of the biggest names in automotive business news and moderated several key industry panel discussions.
Prior to that, Brown was the sports play-by-play broadcaster for the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega and also worked at 790 The Zone in Atlanta.
Brown is a graduate of Georgia Southern University where he served as program director for the campus radio station and sports editor for a Statesboro publication. In 2008, Brown was named the National BEA Sports Broadcaster of the Year Runner-Up while covering Georgia Southern football.
Brown is originally from Gwinnett County and currently lives in Buford with his wife Amanda.
