Atlanta CBS affiliate WGCL and sister station WPCH are rebranding their newscasts to Atlanta News First. WGCL will also change its call sign to WANF.
This comes less than a year after Atlanta based Gray Television finalized its purchase of Meredith’s 17 stations. Since then, Gray has added more than 50 jobs at WGCL-WPCH in news, marketing, technology and sales—and said it is still hiring.
In the press release announcing the move, Erik Schrader, vp and gm, said the stations have to keep growing, adding, “we can’t be reducing the size of our news teams.”
“The people of Northern Georgia deserve a better, community-focused local news service on all platforms,” said Schrader. “This is the start of something new that will benefit Atlanta and its surrounding communities for years to come.”
“Atlanta News First is a commitment to Atlanta and the people who make this such an incredible place to live,” said news director Kim Saxon. “We aim to empower our audience every day through impactful local journalism, reliable weather and traffic—and a connection to our community. We believe in celebrating what is great about our city, and we are invested in doing our part to make it better.”