John Cater had been a freelance reporter at WXIA, WGCL and WSB. He died Tuesday; an unknown illness hospitalized him at Thanksgiving. An infection developed. He never shook it.
Talk about a life cut short. Cater was 32.
I didn’t know Cater. He made it into this site twice, once during his coverage of a Tea Party event; the other, for his coverage of the Botanical Garden accident. Both references were mostly complimentary.
Amani Channel reports that Cater attended last spring’s NABJ conference in Tampa. “Though I didn’t know him well, I’ll remember his wide smile, his positive outlook, and he was a true broadcast professional,” Channel writes in My Urban Report.
Last year Cater won an Emmy. In a memo to her staff Tuesday, WXIA news director Ellen Crooke wrote: “His joy and enthusiasm that night was wonderful to see. His mother wanted us all to know because she said he loved working in this market and he was very proud of his time at 11Alive.”
I watched John do the am news in Pgh , what a shame and so young R I P
Very sorry to hear this.
What a wonderful young man. What a smile. A man that loved his Mother and did not mind the world knowing. We at Pinnacle CU will miss him very much. Only found out about this today, May 13, 2010.
It was a great pleasure to know your son. John and I shared lots of special conversation in reference to family. He always spoke very highly of his mother.