Former WAGA anchor Mark Hayes will join KXAS, the NBC O&O in Dallas, next month.
Hayes announced last week that he would say goodbye to the Atlanta Fox O&O after ten years as the morning anchor. He will join KXAS in the same role, sharing the anchor desk from 4:30 – 7 a.m. with Deborah Ferguson.
“When a viewer turns on the news in the morning, Mark is the kind of person they want to see,” KXAS vice president of news Susan Tully said in a statement. “He has a warm delivery and makes the early wake-up just a little more enjoyable. Mark had a deeply loyal following in Atlanta because of his personable approach to giving viewers their first news of the day.”
Hayes replaces Scott Friedman, who is leaving the anchor desk to run the station’s newly-launched investigative reporting team.
“Becoming part of such an experienced and talented news gathering team has exceeded all my expectations in taking the next step in my career,” Hayes said in a statement. “Their extraordinary vision and passion for journalistic excellence was what attracted me to this opportunity and I can’t wait to be part of such an outstanding news organization, rich with history and tradition, and dedicated to covering North Texas news.”