Happiness is a Warm TV

Happiness is a Warm TV

Changes at WNCN: Four reporters depart since August, new reporter added to sports team

As a member of WNCN’s investigative team, Jonathan Rodriguez won three Emmys and two local Edward R. Murrow Awards.
As a member of WNCN’s investigative team, Jonathan Rodriguez won three Emmys and two local Edward R. Murrow Awards. Courtesy of Jonathan Rodriguez

WNCN lost two reporters this month, which makes four spots vacated at the CBS affiliate since August.

Jonathan Rodriguez and Carleigh Griffeth both left CBS North Carolina for jobs with UNC Health Care this month. Meteorologist Alyssa Corfont left when her baby was born in September, and Ali Warshavsky left in August for a station in New Jersey.

WNCN news director Ed Trauschke said all four positions will be filled, and two of those positions will be announced soon.

Rodriguez started at WNCN in 2012 after working at WNCT in Greenville, where he was named Rookie of the Year by the NC Press Association. At WNCN he was a member of the investigative team. Stories Rodriguez worked on earned 10 Emmy nominations and three wins, including a 2016 win for his #BoozeItLoseIt story. His team also won two local Edward R. Morrow Awards.

Rodriguez confirmed his departure with The News & Observer. He will be in charge of video marketing at UNC Health Care. His last day at the station was Oct. 13.

Carleigh Headshot
Carleigh Griffeth left WNCN in October for a communications job with UNC Healthcare. Thirteenth Moon Photography Thirteenth Moon Photography

Griffeth, a University of Kentucky grad, joined WNCN in 2015 and covered a range of stories, including an in-depth look at North Carolina’s foster care system.

Griffeth’s last day at the station was Oct. 6. She shared the news on her Facebook page early in October. Griffeth will be a communications specialist at UNC Health Care. Her first day there is Oct. 23.

Other recent departures

Meteorologist Alyssa Corfont left the station Sept. 1 after having a baby. Corfont had been at the station almost four years. She posted on her Facebook page that day: “The next step for me is still up in the air but, I’ll be enjoying every minute with my little one while looking for that next opportunity!”

Reporter Ali Warshavsky left WNCN in August to take on traffic and reporting duties at FiOS1 News New Jersey. Warshavsky had been at the station for about a year.

Additionally, reporter David Grzybowski left in June, as did Fayetteville reporter Nate Rodgers. Sheena Elzie filled Rodgers’ spot in September.

A new hire in sports

Arran Andersen joined WNCN in late September, marking an expansion to the station’s sports team. Andersen previously worked at KMGH-Denver7, where he covered the Broncos and Rockies. He joins Todd Gibson and Jeff Jones to cover Triangle and North Carolina sports.

A year of change at WNCN

WNCN-CBS North Carolina has been owned by Nexstar Media Group since January, when Nexstar purchased Media General. That same month, news director Andrea-Parquet Taylor left the station to be the news director for KTVT, the CBS-owned station in Dallas-Fort Worth. The next month, Nexstar replaced WNCN’s general manager Doug Hamilton with Byron Grandy. Ed Trauschke is the station’s news director.

WNCN, formerly an NBC affiliate, switched affiliations with WRAL in February 2016.

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