The national news program from Sinclair Broadcast Group has announced who will be seated in the anchor chairs come September 27 for its late newscasts.
One individual is returning to Sinclair to become a co-anchor. The other is a Sunshine State veteran who left broadcast TV in March 2018.
Coming back to Sinclair is Meagan O’Halloran.
She’ll be seen alongside Eugene Ramirez, who will serve as the “Live Desk Anchor” alongside O’Halloran each weeknight from 10pm-midnight Eastern.
O’Halloran returns to Sinclair after nearly five years as a morning news anchor for KDVR-31 in Denver, a former Tribune Media FOX affiliate now owned by Nexstar Media Group. Before that, she was at WZTV-17, the Sinclair-owned FOX affiliate in Nashville. She’s also worked at WJHG-7 in Panama City Beach, Fla.
Ramirez joins The National Desk after serving as a Director for Kivvit, where he developed and executed strategic communications and public affairs plans for public and private sector clients. Before that, he spent 11 months as the City of Miami’s Director of Communications.
He has plenty of experience behind the anchor desk: from January 2017-March 2018 he was a morning anchor at WFOR-4 in Miami. Before that, he held similar duties at WFLA-8 in Tampa. That job came in January 2015 after a three-year run as a WSVN-7 in Miami reporter.
While Sinclair’s local newscasts are known for their conservative-leaning reports, the company has pledged to bring viewers “a comprehensive, commentary-free look at the most impactful national news and regional stories of the day.”
That was the initial promise of NewsNation, the former WGN America that aimed to offer bias-free news under Nexstar ownership. Since last autumn, a greater focus on conservative-leaning analysis shows in prime-time has emerged.
For Sinclair, The National Desk will rely on local reports at the company’s TV stations across the U.S. That’s not so dissimilar to a Cox Media Group offering, another potential competitor for Sinclair.
That said, The National Desk will be viewable on 64 stations across 60 DMAs, including all MyNetwork TV and The CW Network channels Sinclair controls. It will also be available on Sinclair’s STIRR OTT free streaming platform.
The PM newscast will be led by Executive Producer Ryan Minnaugh, who launched The National Desk’s five-hour, national morning show earlier this year.
Anchor Jan Jeffcoat will continue to helm The National Desk morning news edition, alongside “Live Desk” Anchor Cayle Thompson and National Reporter Angela Brown, from 6-9am Eastern and from 6-8am Pacific each weekday.
In the coming weeks, The National Desk will be also launching a new website and app.
