Channel 2's Jovita Moore celebrates 20 years at WSB-TV!

ATLANTA — She grew up in New York City, but by this point, there's no doubt that Jovita Moore is a true Atlantan!

Jovita is celebrating her 20th anniversary here at Channel 2 Action News.

Her love for journalism started at a young age.

Growing up, she lived in a one-bedroom apartment with her mother and only one TV.

Her mother would often switch the channel from her favorite cartoons to the local news. Instead of going off to play, she would stay and watch the news with her mother.

[PHOTOS: Channel 2's Jovita Moore through the years]

Fast forward to college; one of Jovita's professors suggested she explore journalism as a career.

While in college, she landed an internship at The New York Times.

She learned a lot there about news gathering and reporting, but also saw how much further ahead TV news was compared to the paper.

Jovita went on to get her masters in broadcasting and then started her television career in Arkansas.

She would then move on to Memphis before she came to the Channel 2 Action News newsroom in 1998.

“I was so happy to call Atlanta home, and I think that was evident that Atlanta was that place that I was going to stay,” Moore said. “Everything kind of worked out like it was supposed to.”

[READ: Jovita Moore shares a personal health battle to spotlight women's health]

Jovita worked her way up through the ranks of Channel 2 Action News as a reporter, then fill-in anchor and weekend anchor and then took over as one of the station's main anchors when Monica Pearson retired in 2012.

“I will never forget the day that it was announced to that staff, what all of us knew. And that was Jovita was going to replace me when I retired,” Pearson said. “When the announcement was made, we all were applauding, and Jovita broke down in tears. And it didn’t surprise me because she always comes across as this tough New Yorker chick, you know, this hard news person, and she really has this soft underbelly where she’s very sensitive to the needs and wants of others. So, that is the side I remember most about Jovita. She is an excellent journalist, but she has this softness about her.”

[PHOTOS: Jovita Moore Attends Lunch With First Lady Michelle Obama]

As she took over on the anchor desk, it became clear that Jovita was a natural fit.

“When the red light goes on and the bright lights are on in the studio, Jovita is the consummate professional. We know it’s time to bring it, and both of us are fiercely competitive,” fellow co-anchor Justin Farmer said.

“When she anchors a newscast, she brings to that journalistic endeavor all the background, all the involvement in this community. People sense that, they know that when they watch her. It just helps her be such an excellent communicator,” former WSB-TV anchor John Pruitt said.

[WATCH: Channel 2's Jovita Moore reflects on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.]

Jovita has earned several Emmy awards throughout her years at Channel 2 Action News. She's an active member in the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Black Journalists.

In 2017, The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Southeast Chapter honored Moore with one of its most prestigious career awards, induction into the Silver Circle.

But if you ask Jovita about her biggest accomplishment, she'll say it was raising two great kids along the way.

“My work’s not done here. They’re still growing. It’s a city that we’ve come to love. And this is family. There is a family (within) the WSB-TV walls, and then there is the family outside of the building. And it’s just been one great experience," Jovita said.

Cox Media Group