News director Jim Hanchett is leaving WCAV-WVAW-WAHU for a communications position at Indiana University.
Hanchett, who anchors the 5 p.m. news in addition to serving as news director, has been at the Charlottesville triopoly for the past three years. Assistant news director Griff Benner is taking over for Hanchett on an interim basis.
“My wife, a former NBC News Channel producer, and I have four young children and the IU position offers long-term stability and normalcy that’s hard to find in broadcasting,” Hanchett told TVSpy today via email. “The IU position gives me a chance to use some of the communications and marketing skills I’ve learned in TV in a new way.”
Before Charlottesville, Hanchett worked as an an anchor and managing editor at WECT in Wilmington, NC. His career also includes time at KCNC in Denver and work as NBC News correspondent. He has been named director of marketing and communications for Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs.