Jon Shirek, a veteran Atlanta TV news reporter who retired last year from 11Alive after more than 43 years, has died from complications related to brain cancer. He was 73.
His wife Nancy Nydam said the tumor was discovered in October and surgically removed in November, but chemotherapy decimated his immune system and he succumbed to sepsis and other infection-related issues on Monday.
Shirek was nicknamed “The Poet” in the newsroom for his eloquent writing style. He was unflappable and kind, the type of journalist the bosses could rely on to land the story and hit his marks every time.
“He’d go after every story with all he had,” said Ellen Crooke, vice president for news at 11Alive (WXIA-TV) from 2008 to 2014. “He then wrote with compassion, grace and empathy. Even when it was a difficult story, when hearts were breaking, we knew Jon would be an incredible representative for WXIA.”
Former WXIA reporter Jaye Watson, who worked with Shirek for 18 years, called him the best writer in Atlanta TV news “bar none.” But his modesty knew no bounds.
“When you would try to compliment Jon on a beautifully written story, he would compliment you back four times over,” she said.
Watson said in a newsroom where trash talk is de rigueur, “I never heard him utter a cross word about anyone ever. He was one of the most sincere human beings I’ve ever known.”
His velvet voice “would stop you in your tracks,” said Chris Holcomb, chief meteorologist at WXIA, on his public Facebook page. He shared the newsroom with Shirek for 33 years. “It was like no other voice in TV news. That voice exuded credibility and compassion in every story.”
Credit: CONTRIB
Credit: CONTRIB
Shirek grew up wanting to be a journalist. Nydam said his parents created a makeshift camera for him with paper towel rolls when he was a child and he would follow his older sister around and “report” what she was up to.
He graduated from the University of Florida in Gainesville and joined a TV station in Jacksonville, Florida in the mid-1970s. In 1980, he joined WXIA-TV and quickly became a dependable reporter for the NBC affiliate.
“He’d show up like clockwork early for his shift with a notebook full of story ideas,” said Matt Pearl, an award-winning reporter for 11Alive from 2009 until 2021. “He approached every story with the same degree of commitment, the same desire to research his subject and make sure he had all the facts right.”
Shirek was also a man who would stop what he was doing to help his colleagues without hesitation. He happily spent a day off talking to Pearl about time management and workflow for a book Pearl wrote about journalism.
He possessed a perfectionist streak and often worked extra hours to get the story right, to ensure the subjects he interviewed were treated fairly. Crooke recalled one time he made what she perceived to be a minor mistake. “It was inconsequential,” she said. “Nobody was hurt. But he was so upset with himself, he wrote a resignation letter and put it on my desk. I had to talk him out of it. That’s the standard he held himself up to.”
When 11Alive began hiring reporters who could shoot their own video and edit their own stories, Shirek, then in his 50s, volunteered to become a multimedia journalist.
“Jon never once complained,” Watson said. “He became extraordinarily adept at it. While I was still working with a photographer, Jon was loading equipment into his car and creating better journalism than I ever could shooting his own stuff.”
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Shirek was also an active member of the Atlanta Press Club for many years and helped launch its annual Hall of Fame dinner in 2011. For years, he voluntarily put together videos that honored each of the inductees.
Lauri Strauss, a former executive director for the Atlanta Press Club, said Shirek was so collaborative, he would share the draft of his scripts with her in case she had any notes. “I would always laugh,” she said. “‘Jon. Of course it looks perfect.’ What could I do to edit his work?”
When the club offered to induct him into the Hall of Fame, he declined multiple times. “He was a selfless human being who didn’t want to draw attention to himself,” said Maria Saporta, a veteran journalist who has been involved in the Atlanta Press Club for more than 35 years and was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Shirek’s calming nature extended itself to his relationship with Nydam. “I’d get all worked up over something from my day at work and he’d tell me everything will be OK,” she said. “Sometimes I’d tease him and say, ‘Will you take off your halo for a second and let me be mad?’ I needed him to tell me the world was not ending.”
When Shirek retired, he declined to say goodbye on air and told the station not to give him a going-away party. Nydam said he was just ready to take a break, travel, spend time with family and read.
Last year, they made trips to Florida, New York and Michigan. “We got the last two spots on a sailboat cruise on the Hudson River in New York City on the Fourth of July,” Nydam said. “We got to watch the fireworks. It was the type of thing we couldn’t do before because of his work schedule.”
They were about to go to France when he got the bad news about his tumor. A trip to England planned for Christmas was scotched as well.
Shirek’s death came as a surprise to many of his former colleagues.
“When he got sick, he didn’t want anyone to know,” Nydam said. “He didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him.” As for all the social media posts about him, “Jon would be raising a fit over all this fuss over him.”
A memorial service is scheduled for Sunday, May 4 at 4 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta in Midtown.
He is survived by his wife and his siblings Ken Shirek and Barbara Fowler.
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