For 23 1/2 years, she was one of the most recognizable anchors at the ABC affiliate serving Atlanta — the flagship television station of Cox Media Group.
In April, two masses on her brain and subsequent surgery to remove them revealed she had the most common type of brain cancer.
On Thursday night, Jovita Moore lost her battle against the aggressive, incurable disease. She was 54 years of age.
Moore has been an omnipresent figure at “Channel 2 Action News” since April 1998, when she exited WMC-5 in Memphis. There, Moore spent 4 1/2 years as an anchor and reporter. From October 1990 until October 1993, she had been an anchor/reporter for KFSM-5 in Fayetteville, Ark. Moore started her career in news with an internship at The New York Times.
At WSB, Moore moved to the main anchor desk in 2012.
WSB announced Moore’s passing on Friday, explaining that she had been diagnosed with glioblastoma, which is non-hereditary and is not tied to an individual’s diet or lifestyle, unlike smoking.
Among those expressing their sadness over Moore’s death is Ed Gordon, the Emmy Award–winning broadcaster who presidential interviewer who is the author of the book “Conversation in Black.” Gordon participated in the RBR+TVBR Black Media Symposium in 2020.
“I was coming to Atlanta, Jovita and I had agreed to catch-up and go to dinner a few weeks before she fell ill,” he said in a Twitter post in which he expressed his “profound sadness.” Gordon added, “We corresponded the night before her operation. None of us knew just how serious it was. Such a vibrant soul, I will miss her.”
If you would like to honor Jovita Moore’s memory, you can do so with a donation to Our House Atlanta or The National Brain Tumor Society, two organizations that are very important to her.
Moore is survived by her mother, her two wonderful children and stepdaughter, who she called the most important accomplishments of her life.