What struck me about Aubrey was how he was completely ahead of everybody in getting the story. He was wired that way. His radar was always “on” and when something was brewing, he knew who to talk to, or how to track down the right person.

Apart from working with him at WSB, I also traveled with him to Europe on a Chamber of Commerce trip after I had jumped ship and went to cross-town rival WGST. He never slowed down. I would catch him feeding something back to WSB and wonder how in the heck he got that story.

A true gentleman, journalist with a capital “J,” and one of the most genuine people in broadcasting I have ever known.

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I grew up listening to Aubrey Morris and WSB radio. I was a news junkie LONG before CNN,or Fox Network News! We’re talking all through the Sixties and into the Seventies. Sure, in my teens I listend to other local stations. But WSB and Aubrey Morris were always on at out house and I loved listening to that gravelly voice and his distinctive style.Thanks for your great work,Mr. Morris. GOD bless you.

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Although I felt as though I had known Mr. Morris since 1962 when we moved to ATL to join WQXI, I had never personally met him until the inaugural GA Radio Hall of Fame Awards banquet. Not only was he approachable, he was most warm and friendly as if we had been “buddies” for years. At each subsequent October’s GRHoF event, we had delightful conversations. To his family, as well as all the members of his “radio family” at WSB, and beyond, I extend my sincere condolences and shall remember him with a contribution in his name to the GRHoF.

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I was saddened this morning to hear of Aubrey’s passing. I learned so much from him when I was starting out out WQXI in 1972. I was a “baby” news reporter and I would talk to him and ask him questions any time I had an opportunity when we were out in the field. I’d pump him for information and he was always willing to offer constructive criticism and insight into the news business.

We were covering the Reg Murphy kidnapping back in the early 70’s (Reg was the editor of the Atlanta Journal Constitution at the time) The press was holding a vigil at the AJC and phoning in updates to our respective radio stations. I asked Aubrey how he felt about the kidnapping and he told me that he didn’t have the option for bringing in an emotional aspect to the story. His job was to tell the story. He said he realized he was 100 per cent news focused and somewhat calloused when he was walking to work one morning. He saw a homeless person who had died on the street and was lying across the sidewalk. What did he do? He told me he stepped over the deceased and continued walking to work. When he got to work he filed the story.

Aubrey was always gracious to me and sometimes he’d tell me that I needed to come work for a real news organization and get away from all of that rock and roll at (WQXI) Of course he had to have been joking around because he was the most unbiased human being I’ve ever met. Hard to unbiased when you’re human, right? Not for Aubrey. He was the ultimate news journalist, and I am grateful for what I learned from him in my early broadcast years.

I’ll be at your funeral service Aubrey, for closure and to celebrate a life that was lived!

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Besides being a gentleman and a radio legend, he was also one of the most patriotic men I ever knew. He was very active in the Sons of the American Revolution, where many of his compatriots surely mourn him.

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Back in ‘87, WSB was affiliated with ABC Talkradio for nighttime programming, which I was producing in L.A. This was cemented in place by March ‘87, which qualified as the perfect excuse to line up a network-show interview with Mr. Morris, in observation of WSB’s 65th anniversary (3/15/22). No one could have been more gracious, articulate or entertaining. Hearing Mr. Morris most of my childhood mornings meant the planet would scrape through yet one more day, and certainly no single radio station ever had a better ambassador or historian than Aubrey Morris.

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Elmo Ellis was among the first to develop the full service format on radio. As television become more and more dominant it was obvious that radio had to reach the masses of people who were becoming more and more mobile. Atlanta was the perfect place to give birth to this concept since the city was really growing and WSB of course was the only AM signal which covered the entire market day and night. Of course, one expected WSB to the leader. Prior to the hiring of Aubrey in 1957, many listeners didn’t think of radio as the place to turn to for the latest news and information. It was an entertainment medium. Elmo understood what a lot of radio broadcasters fail to realize today….people listen for content and for things they can’t get any where else. Aubrey had the best local news content and that is what people were after..so what if he didn’t have a “radio voice”. A claim can be made that a unique radio voice can draw a crowd too but Aubrey did give inspiration to those of us who love the business but were not born with golden pipes. There are lots of great Aubrey radio stories…like the time he caught Jimmy Carter in the bathroom and interviewed him….the time a world famous political leader came to Atlanta and he jumped in the back seat of the car to talk with him…but my favorite Aubrey Morris story was the morning he shut down Atlanta. Not realizing that the street he took to work was the only one iced over, Aubrey went on the 50,000 watt Clear Channel Voice of the South, WSB, and told folks to stay off the roads and skip work. Elmo loved to tell the story of how the mayor called and was madder than hell WSB shut down Atlanta that day. Of course, by then, Elmo and the sales department had a nice one sheeter out about the dominance of WSB. I know it upset Elmo and surely Aubrey too that only the most major weather events were covered by Atlanta radio in recent years. Having owned and operated radio stations in markets which previously had good and bad operators, it’s a fact that legacy plays a big role in the success of radio stations today.
The great work done by Aubrey is a reason WSB still does so well. It’s a great tribute to his memory but more so is the simple fact that despite his fame, Aubrey was still a very nice man. Unlike many broadcasters, his ego still fit in the front seat of his pickup truck and he would make time to talk to some young kid like myself attending a GAB conference. That is when I learned his wife is a native of Willachoochee not far from my old stomping grounds in South Georgia. We both got a chuckle that few people in Atlanta knew where the place was located and even fewer could pronounce the word correctly and knew how to spell it (I had to use spell check myself). We’ll remember Aubrey Morris as a lion of radio broadcasting.

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This saddens me very much. I went to the same Irish Church with Aubrey Morris. I had no idea I was in the presance of a great man. We had our brief chats, I always got a hug and a little kiss from him. He was a warm and gentle soul. I was away when he passed. He always said to me. “You’re a Cool Gal”. I will miss your sweet face. Rest In Peace.
I had no idea what had happened to you when I stopped seeing you at mass at St. Aidans. I lost a warm gentle soul that I concidered a friends..God bless you.
Dwana Horner

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