James "Jim" G. Saunders

leaving behind his beloved wife Judy with whom he shared a life together for more than 35 years. Mr.

Saunders was born August 13, 1933 in Richmond, Virginia. He received a BS Degree from Marshall

University in 1955, an MFA from Ohio University in 1957 and his Ph.D. from Ohio University in 1966. He

also received a diploma from SunCoast School of Massage Therapy in 2003. Mr. Saunders enjoyed a

long and illustrious career in the television industry that spanned more than 40 years. He is regarded as

one of the most outstanding television station general managers ever to hold that post and was a

mentor to dozens of professionals who followed his leadership. “Jim” to everyone who knew him,

commanded not only respect and admiration of those who knew and worked with him closely, but had a

unique command of television as an art and science that he brought to every assignment he faced,

leaving the TV station in much better competitive shape and with an enhanced moral and ethical fiber.

Jim grew ratings, revenue and return on investment to record levels at every turn; he was a master at

building these properties so that their commitment to the communities they served were regarded as

the “best in class” in their assigned TV markets.

Jim had been a General Manager in many markets including, in order, Boston, Toledo, Norfolk, Grand

Rapids, LA, and Sacramento. He also held corporate roles with Kaiser Broadcasting and Cosmos. Earlier

in his career, Jim was a Professor/Director of School of Radio & TV at Ohio University, and in his second

tenure there, formed the College of Communication, made up of Schools of Journalism, Radio & TV,

Speech and Speech & Hearing Sciences. Clearly, Jim was a man of vision. He returned to the Tampa

area in 1997, opening a consulting firm with wife Judy, to work with Media General Broadcast Group (now

Nexstar).

Jim is survived by his loving wife, Judy and awesome rescue poodle Brokaw, two grown children.

Michael (Peggy) who reside in the San Francisco Bay area and Valerie (Steve) who live in Charlotte, N.C.

with his grandson who bears his name, James; two sisters, Chrysti Melius(Antonio) and Ethel

Churchwell(Jim) and 4 nieces/nephews and 7 greats. And then there’s the family he married into with

Judy, gaining 4 sisters and 1 brother, 13 nieces and nephews, and 17 greats, spread all across the US

including Hawaii.

Memorial Service will be held at WFLA-TV, 200 S Parker St, Tampa, on May 21 at 2pm. In lieu of

flowers, please send donations to Lighthouse for the Blind in Tampa, where Jim sat on the Board for

eight years in addition to gaining significant ‘how to be blind” lessons since 2000.