By Hannah Osborne
Ray Carter’s career in broadcasting took off before he could even finish his college degree. Today, as he approaches a “semi-retirement” serving as a mission leader, he imagines what life will look like after leaving the electrifying world of broadcast journalism.
“It’s a great privilege to be a journalist, a broadcaster, to look at the impact you’re having both in your community as well as people that you’ve hired and developed and promoted,” says Carter. “What a remarkable blessing that is! So, I feel very blessed, and excited for the next chapter.”
Carter has been a broadcaster for 40 years, and has spent the final four of those in Atlanta as the Vice President and General Manager of WSB-TV.
Before making the move to Atlanta, Carter served in markets across the country in a
number of positions that would provide him with the experience necessary to successfully manage one of the top newsrooms in the country. Now, after four decades of serving local communities, Carter is accepting a new calling as a mission leader for the California Modesto Mission within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, alongside his wife, Cathy.
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Born and raised in San Diego, California, Carter made the decision to attend Brigham Young University (BYU) – not to study broadcasting or journalism, but business.
“I had a roommate, who came from a family steeped in television history and prominence,” says Carter. “He asked me to help him with a couple of television projects and I LOVED what I experienced.”
Soon after, Carter changed his major to broadcasting, ultimately shifting his studies to receive a degree in journalism.
Then, just a week before beginning his first post-graduation position as a reporter with KCAU-TV in Sioux City, IA, Carter discovered that he would not be receiving his degree.
“I failed two classes and called my news director and said, ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t graduate, I can’t take the job that you’ve offered me,’” says Carter. “She laughed and said, ‘We don’t care if you have a degree, can you do the job?’ I said that I could and she said, ‘Well good, you start next week.’ And I never looked back.”
While the lack of a college degree never set him back, it did provide a point of amusement during interviews. In fact, having achieved what he has without one has been a sort of pride for him.
“I have a college education, I’m only a couple credit hours short, but having that actual piece of paper…It’s mildly amusing to me,” says Carter.
In the past, Carter has attempted to take online courses just for the sake of finishing his degree, but both his professional and personal life have taken priority.
“If I was going to be the kind of father I wanted to be, the kind of church leader, the kind of professional I wanted to be, I just didn’t have the time to be a student on top of that,” says Carter.
Once Carter has fully entered retirement with the completion of his service as a mission leader, becoming a college graduate is at the top of his to-do list.
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The lack of a degree is not the only abnormality of Carter’s career. He became a leader in the newsroom at a very young age, and by the time he had turned 26, he was already a News Director in Binghamton, New York at WMGC-TV.
“I felt like I had to prove myself because I was so young, and my staff was older, often much older than I was. I had this sense of ‘Boy, I have to prove to them that I can do this,’” says Carter. 
Later, while working for a different station Carter formed a friendship with one of the senior anchors, who gave him the reassurance he needed to stop being so hard on himself.
“He said something along the lines of, ‘You can stop trying to prove yourself. You’re respected, you’re the kind of leader the newsroom wants and needs. So, if you want to take it down a notch, you can do that,’” says Carter.
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Throughout his 40-year career, he has served in newsrooms across the country. Carter’s first role in a Newsroom after leaving college was as a reporter.
“I’m a news junkie. So breaking news, investigative work, those were the two that were my passion points,” says Carter. “Those were two areas that I knew were important, and in the case of investigative, important to affect change. And I love that about the work we do.”
From Sioux City, Carter would move into the position of News Director for the first time in New York. This background in news is another unique aspect of the trajectory of Carter’s career. Typically, those who take on the roles of VPs and GMs have a background in the sales side of the industry. Carter lives and breathes news.
From 1986 to 2001, Carter served in similar positions in markets across the country. Over the course of 15 years, he spent time in New York, Maryland, Iowa, Utah and Atlanta. After his first stint with WSB-TV in Atlanta, Carter moved to WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh, as the VP and General Manager.
“I’ve been so fortunate to work with some of the great television stations in our industry. WHO in Des Moines, KSL in Salt Lake City, WSB in Atlanta, WPXI in Pittsburgh, those are legendary, great stations,” says Carter. “I never wanted to damage the brands that I was charged with protecting. So, I worked really, really hard to understand the brand, understand the research that particular audience expected of that brand. Then, my job was to do that with hyperfocus and incredible vigor. And that’s what I tried to do.”
Before ultimately returning to WSB-TV in Atlanta, Carter spent 2 years as the Regional VP of Cox Media Group serving the CMG Television markets in Boston, Seattle, Charlotte, Pittsburgh and Memphis.
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While there are few regrets that Carter has had over the span of his career, there are two that stand out in his mind.
The first is that the demands of his career in broadcasting took away from valuable time spent with family, a regret common among most broadcasters. The second is how much he took advantage of the mentors in his life.
“I don’t know that I called on them enough, and I think that was a mistake,” says Carter. “I probably could have avoided some mistakes and missteps, had I been a little more proactive with those mentors.”
Carter strongly encourages young broadcasters, and those just beginning to step into the 
industry, to foster those relationships and take advantage of anyone who offers to serve as a mentor in their lives.
“Two of those mentors are still involved in my life, and people I consider to be friends AND mentors. It’s interesting how it works, they start out as your mentor, and end up being lifelong friends,” Carter says.
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The people who Carter has encountered have been the driving force behind his passion for broadcasting. The communities, the newsrooms, and the up-and-comers have made it all the more worthwhile.
“For me, it’s been about the people, and it’s always gratifying to receive a personal note from someone, or a phone call, thanking me for helping them along the way. Being somebody who, you know, had a set of standards that they looked up to, that means a lot, and that’s probably what I’m most proud of,” says Carter.
This attitude also extends to the ‘newbies’ of the broadcasting world.
“There’s always a part of me that’s recruiting,” he says. “When I engage with young people about this industry…the benefits of this industry and its importance in our society.”
Despite the “bright and shiny” world of new-age technology and media, it is important to Carter that young people are aware that while broadcasting may be weathered around the edges, the industry continues to stay vibrant and relevant.
The public needs to be convinced of this in some ways too.
Carter hopes that as the industry continues to progress, broadcast stations can sway the public’s opinion of the industry into a more favorable light. Enlightening audiences that newsrooms aim to be presenters of the news without bias and hope to make a positive impact in communities are things that local television can accomplish that other mediums cannot.
“We live here, work here, send our kids to school here, pay our taxes here. When you compete against some of these large platforms, they don’t have any of that. That’s what local is, we are a part of the community, we KNOW the community, and we can be trusted by the community,” says Carter.
The effort and commitment to this goal has not gone unnoticed.
“Ray is one of the most impactful leaders in our industry. He brought an overwhelmingly positive energy to our business and deep passion for people and community he serves,” said Dan York, CMG’s President & CEO in a press release announcing Carter’s retirement. “At the same time, he’s been an advocate for the value of local news and investigative journalism and the important impact of local broadcasting.”
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Under Carter’s leadership WSB-TV has earned 24 NATAS Southeast Emmys and 17 
Georgia Association of Broadcasters Awards. In 2021, Carter was inducted into the NATAS Silver Circle. In 2023, Carter unexpectedly became Chairman of the Board for the GAB. A decision that Carter says, “was an easy decision to make.”
At the 2024 GAB Hall of Fame Induction ceremony, President of the GAB, Bob Houghton, presented Carter with a proclamation from the Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, recognizing Carter as an “outstanding Georgia citizen.”
“We wish him the best as he takes on his next calling, a three-year commitment to serve as a missionary for the Mormon church,” says Houghton. “We thank Ray for his great service on the board.”
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In his retirement, Carter intends to donate time to nonprofit organizations and reinvest in his hobbies, specifically writing, a longtime outlet. After completing his service as a mission leader, Carter plans to move back west, to be closer to his family.
“While I will miss the energy and excitement of local television, more than that, I will miss the people. I am a better person because of the collective influence, patience, and commitment of so many. Now, on to the next chapter, to learn more and serve,” Carter shared in a post on LinkedIn.
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Ray Carter’s final day at WSB-TV was Friday, March 29, 2024.
