By Hannah Osborne
The Georgia Association of Broadcasters is pleased to introduce Dee Armstrong to its Hall of Fame Class of 2026.
Dee Armstrong’s career in broadcasting was not the product of a childhood dream, but rather the product of standing out to the right person. 
“You never know who’s watching,” says Armstrong.
Armstrong was a student at Columbus High School in Columbus, GA when her English teacher, Mrs. Marion Barrow, was asked to select a student for a unique opportunity — to be coached by the local radio station for an on-air role.
“Mrs. Marion had recommended me, but I never even knew she was looking at me.”
Armstrong, who at the time aspired to study political science and become an attorney, took advantage of the opportunity and began to work at the radio station, WDAK. Two years later, she graduated from high school with Honors.
Her next step was to begin her degree in political science at Columbus State University. Meanwhile, Armstrong’s broadcasting career continued to develop. Ed Harbison (GAB Hall of Fame ‘22) had heard that a local television station was searching for someone with a background in broadcasting who would like to go into television.
Again, without realizing someone was watching and advocating on her behalf, Armstrong’s name was thrown into the hat.
“I wasn’t aspiring to do it, but I thought it was an interesting opportunity and wanted to see what it was about,” Armstrong says.
When Armstrong arrived at WRBL, she did not have a traditional education in journalism. On her first day on the job, her boss gave her a story and a photographer. She was sent to a school in Columbus to cover the story of the school’s transition into a community facility.
“I had never done anything like that, but I knew I loved to write,” Armstrong says. “My mother loved to write. She loved poetry. And so, we all loved to read. When we were young, our punishment was to read. Our father would say, ‘Go get a book, and sit down.’”
Despite her lack of training, Armstrong used her love and skill for writing and thespian spirit to get in front of the camera.
During the day, Armstrong worked at WRBL. At night, she continued her education at Columbus State University.
“I was used to studying hard and I was used to hard work. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed going to work,” says Armstrong.
While Armstrong studied political science at the university, she studied broadcasting and journalistic writing from her peers at the station.
“Here I was, just starting college, and I’m working on this team of award-winning broadcasters. They took me under their wings and taught me about writing and journalistic integrity. They looked out for me and made sure what I produced was up to standard,” Armstrong says.
Around this time, a magazine article had come out featuring the ‘youngest weekend anchor in the country.’ When Armstrong saw the age of the broadcaster, she realized that she had been a year younger when she got on the anchor desk.
“I still don’t know if I feel it yet. I don’t know that I feel like Dee Armstrong,” she says. “Those things don’t hit me until I’m out somewhere and someone calls my name.”
From Columbus, Armstrong moved to South Bend, IN to work at WSBT.
“Again, I was the youngest one on the team. It was the #1 station in the area at the time, and I got to work with journalists who took their jobs very seriously,” Armstrong says.
She was at WSBT for two and a half years when she received a call that her father had become seriously ill. Armstrong requested a leave of absence, always intending to return to her post. Her father ended up living for longer than they had expected. One thing led to another, and she never ended up returning to Indiana.
“I ended up getting married, having kids and staying in Georgia.”
Armstrong says that she always aligned more with the identity of “working mom” than anything else.
“One of the things I wanted to do was be a good mother.”
Armstrong had moved to Atlanta and was finishing her degree at Georgia State University. At the same time her husband was also working towards a degree, when he tragically passed away. Armstrong stayed in Atlanta long enough to graduate with her degree in political science and history; and then began applying to return home to a station in Columbus.
“I wanted to go back to where I had started, but they weren’t hiring. A friend had suggested I try Channel 9, but Channel 9 was the enemy!” Armstrong jokes.
She ended up going to Channel 9 when a former co-worker from Indiana, Stephan Foust, called her up. Foust asked Armstrong to join the team as the weekend reporter. At that time, he had never been a news director and had told Armstrong that he needed people in place that he could trust so he could concentrate on learning how to be a news director.
“I came back [to Columbus], joined the team and I tell you, before we knew it, we were number one,” she says.
Although Armstrong didn’t study broadcasting or journalism in college, she did use her political science and history degree in her reporting. Having this background allowed her to be a better reporter and push for the “rest of the story.” Armstrong says that she gained an appreciation for critical thinking, and trusting a source, but verifying.
Her gig as a weekend reporter quickly transformed into weekend anchor. Within two years, she was promoted to the 6pm anchor.
In 2005, Armstrong took a step back from the world of broadcasting.
“I have a kind of entrepreneurial spirit,” she says.
In her break from broadcasting, Armstrong purchased properties to manage; bought and operated a thrift mall; and spent some time in the insurance agency. 
“Those things ran their course,” Armstrong says. “I got a call from Channel 38 in Columbus. They wanted to launch the first daytime talk show in Columbus, and they wanted me to host it.”
While the show was under development, she was hosting the 6 o’clock news. Then, when the show launched, she continued to anchor the 6 o’clock while hosting ‘The Dee Armstrong Show.’
“We did a lot of the ‘first of its kind’ in the market,” she says.
When the show came to an end, Armstrong returned to the newsroom and anchored the 6 o’clock newscast. Eventually, Channel 38 (WLTZ) entered a shared agreement with WTVM, bringing Armstrong back to the station.
As a native member of the Columbus community, Dee has served her neighbors in more ways than one. Beyond the newsroom, Armstrong has been involved in a number of charitable initiatives.
She was humbled when she had the opportunity to work with Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter. WTVM is one of the stations that served their hometown, so the former President and First Lady were already familiar with Armstrong. Rosalynn had asked Armstrong to host a couple of fundraising events for her.
“That meant a lot to me,’ Armstrong says.
She has also served on the Young Life Board; Girls Inc. Columbus; the Women’s Job Corps Columbus; Joy Columbus; the Omegas; speaking and singing at church events and more.
When she began to donate her time to these causes, she had to learn how to best be of service, which didn’t always mean serving on the board. Sometimes, this meant leveraging her status to bring awareness to the organizations.
Armstrong notably founded the Alopecia Support Group. She had experienced the loss of her hair in her late 20s and was diagnosed with Adult-Onset Alopecia. In 2018, an incident thrust a struggle that she had faced privately into the spotlight.
She quickly took this experience to advocate and provide support for other women who experienced hair loss. In addition to the support group, Armstrong wrote and performed a one-woman show about the condition and hosted an Alopecia Ball for the community.
“When you can see life from another point of view, it really changes you,” Armstrong says.
Becoming the news story gave Armstrong a new perspective on her work. She began to realize that what you read isn’t always the truth.
“When you go through things, it makes you a better reporter. It helps you realize that sometimes you need to dig for the truth.”
Armstrong shares that sometimes she drives her producers crazy pushing for the truth.
Through her work, Armstrong has gained great admiration for producers.
“Producers taught me that every word means something, even if it doesn’t mean something to me,” she says. “The producers I’ve worked with have taught me that if you want someone to sit there and listen, they’ve got to feel like you’re talking to them.”
Armstrong stresses that it is critical to consume and invest in local journalism.
“Why should they watch me? There are 50 other things they could watch right now.” Armstrong says. “Local news is the only thing that covers stories significant to the people who live in that community. They can get all that other news anywhere, but they don’t know what I’m about to say.”
She also is a strong believer in telling the story on both sides of the aisle, allowing viewers to form an opinion based on all of the available information.
After more than 30 years of service as a broadcaster, Armstrong is being recognized for her contributions to the industry and the Columbus community as a 2026 inductee to the Georgia Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
Armstrong was nominated and selected for this honor by a committee of her peers.
President of the GAB, Randy Gravley, first reached out to WTVM General Manager, Pamela Biddle, to share the good news. Biddle and Gravley coordinated with WTVM News Director, William McClain, to share the news with Dee in a very special way.
“I’m a newsie, so I knew all about the government shutdown, and the station had asked me to do a live shot with a Washington correspondent,” Armstrong says.
“That was one of the coolest things that ever happened to me,” says Armstrong. “I’ll never forget the way they did it.”
Armstrong shares that she is excited to celebrate her induction with her kids and her WTVM family, who have both expressed their pride in her.
