WTVJ, the NBC owned-and-operated station in Miami, is adding three new newscasts on weekends beginning this Saturday.
Station president and general manager Ardyth Diercks said WTVJ is “excited to be able to serve our viewers on weekend mornings.” Sharon Lawson, who has been with the station since 2003, will anchor the newscasts, with weather forecasting by meteorologist Jennifer Reeves.
The revamped lineup will see hour-long newscasts at 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. Saturday, bookending NBC’s “Today” show, and a two-hour newscast at 6 a.m. Sunday, leading in to “Today” at 8 a.m. and “Meet the Press” at 9 a.m.
Read the full release from NBC after the jump.
NBC MIAMI LAUNCHES FOUR NEW HOURS OF LOCAL WEEKEND NEWS
MIRAMAR, FL – September 29, 2011 – NBC Miami today announced the launch of four hours of local weekend news. The “NBC Miami Today” weekend edition will premiere on Saturday, October 1, 2011 and will air Saturdays at 6-7AM and 9-10AM and Sundays at 6-8AM followed by NBC’s “Today” show.
“We are excited to be able to serve our viewers on weekend mornings. The addition of these newscasts expands our ability to provide relevant information every morning and to better serve our community,” said NBC Miami President and General Manager Ardyth Diercks.
“NBC Miami Today” weekend morning newscasts will be anchored by station veteran Anchor/Reporter Sharon Lawson who joined the station in 2003 and has since covered a wide array of stories impacting the South Florida market. Lawson will be joined by Meteorologist Jennifer Reeves (formerly Gray) who returns home to NBC Miami to become a member of the most experienced weather team in South Florida.
In addition to news of the day and weather, the weekend morning newscasts will help viewers plan their weekends by covering local events and offer more health and enterprise stories.
The NBC Miami local news expansion is the result of a significant company-wide investment in the 10 NBC-owned stations to further strengthen newsgathering operations. The four hours of new local news programming in Miami follows the launch of an hour-long 5PM weekday newscast in May.