Authur John Pruitt at UGA Griffin

Tell It True - John Pruitt

An African American serviceman is gunned down on a rural Georgia road in July 1964. This shocking murder ensnares a wide range of characters including the journalists who cover it, the lawmen who must solve it, the civil rights leaders who capitalize upon it, the politicians who exploit it, and the Atlanta magnate who fears its impact on the New South image he desperately wants to protect. TV news cameraman Gil Matthews and AP reporter Mindy Williams team up to follow the twists and turns of the murder investigation as rural, state, and federal lawmen clash, a civil rights leader fends off a black power challenger, and voters take sides in a governor's race pitting virulent racist Roscoe Pike against moderate underdog Harrison Parker. Focusing on the challenges faced by journalists as they covered a societal revolution and brought the dramatic and sometimes violent scenes to television screens around the world night after night, TELL IT TRUE takes us to a time when the future of the South hung in the balance. Readers will no doubt recognize that many of those same troubles are still with us today. Veteran journalist John Pruitt bases the story on his experiences over fifty years as a television news reporter and anchor in Atlanta, Georgia. "There were many momentous stories I covered during my career," says Pruitt, "but none equaled the magnitude of the struggles for racial equality in the South."

Meet the Author

John Pruitt covered the news of Atlanta and Georgia as television anchor and reporter for almost half a century. His major stories include the civil rights movement, the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Jimmy Carter’s gubernatorial and presidential campaigns, the inaugurations of Presidents Carter and Clinton, eleven Democratic and Republican conventions, the 1983 bombing of a Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, and the aftermath of the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center.

From 1965-67 John served as an infantry lieutenant in the U.S. Army in South Korea and Fort Gordon, Georgia. Upon his return to WSB in 1967, John resumed his reporting career, eventually rising to the position of weekend anchor. In 1973 he became anchor of WSB’s 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts. In 1978 John joined WXIA-TV in Atlanta as evening news anchor, but in 1994 he rejoined WSB to once again anchor its 6 and 11 pm news. Later he added the 5 p.m. news to his anchor duties. John retired at the end of 2010 after a career that spanned 46 years. After retirement John continued to make periodic appearances on WSB to comment on politics and other important stories.

John has a history degree from Davidson College and has received many awards for his anchoring and reporting. He has been inducted into the Georgia Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame as well as the Atlanta Press Club Hall of Fame. He has won ten Emmys, including Best Male Anchor and Best Documentary, five Sigma Delta Chi Quill Awards, UPI Awards for his coverage of Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign and a North Georgia airliner crash, the Georgia Winner Award for Public Service, Father of the Year, Pioneer Broadcaster Award from the University of Georgia School of Journalism, the Silver Circle Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, an Honorary Doctorate in Public Service from Presbyterian College, and the Distinguished Achievement in Broadcasting Award from Digamma Kappa at the University of Georgia School of Journalism.

John has served on the boards of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Protestant Radio and TV Center, the Atlanta Humane Society, Fix Georgia Pets, Nature Conservancy of Georgia, Literacy Action, and the Rabun Gap Nacoochee School.

John and his wife Andrea have been married 54 years, have two daughters, and six grandchildren. The Pruitts are dog lovers and share their home with two rescues: golden retrieve Sully and terrier mix Ruby.

John’s first novel was published in October 2022. Tell It True is based on his experiences covering the civil rights movement in the Sixties.