ATLANTA — At 2:29 p.m. on Wednesday, the 1 millionth Facebook user "liked" Channel 2's Facebook page and set off a celebration of years of hard work and dedication to this powerful platform and community.
“This marks an incredible milestone for a local news station and we can’t thank the Atlanta Facebook community enough for “liking” the WSB-TV station page one million times,” said Tim McVay, General Manager of Channel 2. “Facebook users have told us time and again how much they appreciate and count on our news hitting their feed, keeping them up to date on breaking news, important local stories and weather.”
The station marked the occasion with foam “Like” fingers, a cake and a lot of cheers around the newsroom.
Running up to the milestone moment, staffers were refreshing their Facebook feeds on their smart phones, watching the numbers count up. When it turned over the one million mark, everyone instantly began posting pictures on their social media accounts, from Facebook to Twitter and Instagram. They shared the station's "Thanks2You" video, which ABC's "Good Morning America" shared along with its congratulations on its Facebook page.
Jovita Moore and Justin Farmer, anchors for Channel 2 Action News, hosted a "Facebook Live" feed showing some of the behind the scenes celebration.
“We show our thanks to our fans and followers every day through the relentless execution it takes to deliver the best and most up to date content wherever and whenever they need it,” said Misti Turnbull, News Director. “Social plays a key part in our daily news delivery with mobile web and television.”
“Facebook provides a terrific platform for Channel 2 Action News to deliver content rich with video, pictures and links to more information,” said Bryan Leavoy, Digital Content Manager. “It keeps our fans involved and engaged in their news and community.”
It’s been a great beginning of the year for Channel 2. First, the station launched its new News and Severe Weather Center, then won every head-to-head newscast in the January 2016 Sweep, and now, crossed over one million “Likes” on Facebook.
That continues to build on the station’s tradition of amassing Atlanta’s largest news community.