Meet the two new anchors replacing Judy Woodruff on ‘PBS NewsHour’
By Oliver Darcy, CNN Business
“PBS NewsHour” is ready to turn the page.
The iconic nightly news program announced Wednesday that legendary anchor and managing editor Judy Woodruff will sign off from the anchor desk on Friday, December 30. Woodruff, 75, will pivot to a two-year project aimed at understanding polarization in America and how it can be remedied.
Taking Woodruff’s place at the anchor desk will be Amna Nawaz and Geoff Bennett, PBS officially announced (you’ll remember that we, along with others, reported this back in May). The move marks a generational shift at the show and is a reflection of a younger, more diverse country it aims to cover. Bennett, 42, is Black and Nawaz, 43, is the first-generation American daughter of Pakistani parents.
In a joint interview on Wednesday, Bennett said he’s “honored,” “grateful,” and “excited” to launch the show’s “next chapter.” Nawaz said, “The enormity of the moment is not lost on us when you look at the history and legacy of this place.”
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The duo stressed that the central elements of “NewsHour” will remain in place. So don’t expect any seismic changes. The show, after all, has built up a loyal audience over its many decades on air and a sudden shift in programming strategy could alienate viewers. As Bennett explained, he and Nawaz want to simply “build on the foundation that exists.”
“The core of what we do will not change at all. But, yeah, we do bring different backgrounds to the desk,” Bennett said, noting that both he and Nawaz are also parents to young children.
“We have come to this role with different journeys,” Nawaz added.
But while significant structural changes shouldn’t be expected on the show, “NewsHour” viewers will still see a different program with the anchors bringing their own distinctive styles. And, simply by the function of having two anchors, they will, as Nawaz put it, be able to “go out into the field and get closer to the story.” One anchor can remain at the desk while another is deployed to the field.
“NewsHour” is also working to modernize how it delivers the news to reach younger, more mobile-centric audiences. The show has launched a TikTok channel and attracts about a million YouTube viewers each day. On TikTok, the show recently started hosting live discussions with PBS reporters and outside experts. “We’re excited to expand how we interact with our live audience on the platform,” a spokesperson for the program said.
“‘NewsHour’ is so much bigger than just an hour of television,” Nawaz said, adding that younger viewers interact with the show in totally different ways.
“Any time I am on a college campus, they say they follow us on Instagram or see our stuff through a TikTok update,” she said. “We are putting our content out in so many ways and meeting viewers where they are.”
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