ABC11/WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham Names New Evening News Anchor

Lauren Johnson Joins the Station From WTXF-TV- Philadelphia

ABC11/WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham President and General Manager Rob Elmore has named Lauren Johnson to co-anchor its evening newscast and will join the team by the end of July.

Johnson will co-anchor the evening Eyewitness News team at 5:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. with Steve Daniels as well as the 10:00 p.m. newscast on CW22. She replaces Tisha Powell who announced she was retiring from broadcasting.

“It is a great pleasure to welcome Lauren to ABC11,” said Elmore. “Our team had an instant connection with Lauren the minute we met her, and we know our viewers will feel the same as she joins the evening news to inform and serve our growing audience across central North Carolina.”

Joining from Fox 29 News in Philadelphia, Johnson launched a weekend edition of “Good Day Philadelphia.” During her tenure, she covered the deadly Amtrak derailment, the pope’s visit to Philadelphia, the Democratic National Convention, the NFL Draft, the Eagles Super Bowl-winning season, both Bill Cosby trials, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the local civil unrest surrounding the murder of George Floyd.

WTVD’s News Director Bervette Carree added, “I am thrilled to welcome Lauren Johnson to ABC11 Eyewitness News and to the great state of North Carolina. Lauren is a talented, compassionate and seasoned journalist who is a truth-seeker for all people. Her ability to authentically connect with people is a unique and appreciated trait in our industry. I have no doubt Lauren will be an awesome addition to our winning team.”

Johnson began her career as a feature reporter at Central Florida News 13 in Orlando, Florida, in 2003. She then joined WHBQ-TV in Memphis, Tennessee, as a health reporter, winning a Tennessee Hospital Association Award. She was also nominated for several Emmys® for her reporting of children’s healthcare issues before being tapped to co-anchor the early edition of “Good Morning Memphis.” She briefly returned to Orlando and launched the weekend edition of “Good Day Orlando” for the Fox affiliate; while there, she additionally covered the controversial trial of George Zimmerman for the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin.

Johnson graduated from Furman University with a bachelor’s degree in communication studies. She credits her internship working behind the scenes on ABC’s “Good Morning America” with Diane Sawyer as what “sealed the deal” for a journalism career.

About ABC11/WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham
The only local news station with three downtown newsrooms (Raleigh/Fayetteville/Durham), ABC11 Eyewitness News provides 47.5 hours of local news every week, serving more than 1 million households in a 23-county area in North Carolina and Virginia. Eyewitness News also provides news, weather and sports information 24 hours a day on ABC11.com, the ABC11 mobile news app and the new connected TV app available on Roku, Fire, Apple, and Android TVs. ABC11 WTVD is one of eight ABC Owned Stations as part of the Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution division. For more information, go to http://www.abc11.com.

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