Larry Smith joined the LEX 18 team as evening anchor next to Nancy Cox and Angie Beavin in December 2020, after a lengthy broadcast journalism career in network and major markets.
Larry began his career during college at his hometown radio stations WLBH-FM & WMCI-FM in Mattoon, Illinois. His television career launched shortly thereafter at WICD in Champaign, Illinois. After a short stint there, he worked for WBIR in Knoxville and WPTV in West Palm Beach before landing a job as a sports anchor and correspondent at CNN. Based in Atlanta, he covered more than 60 major championships worldwide, including a dozen Final Fours, six Super Bowls, and four Olympics. He also served as a regular host for Major League Baseball playoff coverage and NBA TV’s “Gametime” for Turner Sports.
Larry led CNN’s coverage of the end of Major League Baseball’s players strike in 1994 and was the network’s lead correspondent for the Michael Vick saga. He was the first to interview Michael Phelps after he won a record eight gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Beijing.
After leaving CNN, Larry anchored the news at WCPO in Cincinnati, WGCL in Atlanta, and WJLA in Washington, D.C., where he covered the 2017 presidential inauguration and won a Regional Emmy for his reporting on the opening of the Smithsonian Museum of African-American History and Culture. Since 2013, he has been a play-by-play announcer for Georgia Public Broadcasting’s coverage of the Georgia High School football and basketball championships.
Larry received a Peabody Award for his reporting on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and a Distinguished Alumni Award from Eastern Illinois University and Lake Land College. He enjoys bowling and is an avid golfer who once hit a hole-in-one at a friend’s wedding. He is a history buff who enjoys touring museums with his wife and two teenage children.
Larry is excited to call the Bluegrass home! You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @LarrySmithTV.
