When CBS News Detroit launches in January, viewers in the Motor City will get a healthy dose of the Duncan family on their air. Ronnie Duncan is the sports anchor at CBS News Detroit, as the WWJ news operation is known, while his daughter, Jericka Duncan, is a national correspondent at CBS News and anchors CBS Weekend News on Sundays. 

Ronnie’s career has taken him all over the country, including stations in Philadelphia, Cleveland and Phoenix, and Jericka has childhood memories of visiting her father at his various outlets. She was too young to remember when Oprah Winfrey, then of WJZ Baltimore, held her as a baby (Dad was WJZ sports reporter and weekend sports anchor). But she reminded Winfrey of their connection decades before when Winfrey visited CBS Mornings in recent years. 

Jericka’s daughter now accompanies Mom to her job on occasion. “As a single mother, it’s not a big deal to bring my child with me to work when I can,” Duncan said, “because that’s what my father did with me.”

Jericka, 39, initially wanted to direct music videos, but also saw how much her father enjoyed delivering sports and, at times, news. “Even with his crazy hours, the job afforded him opportunities to see me and my brother and sister at our plays, football games, track meets,” Jericka said. “I thought, if my Dad can do it, I can probably do it. And he seems like he has a lot of fun with his job.”

Before coming on board at CBS News in 2013, Jericka worked at KYW Philadelphia and WIVB Buffalo, among other local outlets. Ronnie points out that his daughter occasionally filled in on the sports side. 

Ronnie, 64, was drawn to WWJ Detroit for what he called the autonomy the sports anchor position represented. Unlike many veteran sports anchors, he can shoot and edit his own segments. “You get a chance to just go,” he said, speaking from an event involving the Motor City Cruise, an NBA G League affiliate of the Detroit Pistons. “I don’t have to go to the assignment desk. I just pick up a camera, go, do the story, and do the interview afterwards.”

A Proud Dad

He’s extraordinarily proud to see Jericka on the network news, and to think that, on Sundays, she takes the seat that Walter Cronkite occupied for so long. “To know that she has risen to that level — we know as a family, it’s a blessing,” he said. “And we’re very proud.”

Ronnie has been a vital role model for Jericka, but he’s quick to credit his wife for passing along her grace under pressure. “She gets her moxie, her coolness and her calmness from Yvonne Griffin Duncan,” Ronnie said. “When you see Jericka on TV, it’s not my talent — it’s her mom’s.”

Jericka said her mother and father are the two people she trusts more than anyone else in terms of career decisions. But their advice is not limited to the workplace. “It’s a blessing to be able to talk shop, but also just talk about life,” she said. “It doesn’t always have to be about the business.”

Ronnie has one more milestone he’d like to reach before he retires — to be at the anchor desk, and kick it over to Jericka on the network news. It might sound something like this: “Jericka, tell us what’s coming up next on the CBS Evening News,” Ronnie said. “Well, Dad …” ▪️

CBS News correspondents Adriana Diaz and Jericka Duncan have been named anchors of CBS Weekend News. Diaz will anchor Saturdays from Chicago and Duncan will anchor Sundays from New York. 

“Jericka Duncan and Adriana Diaz are outstanding journalists with extensive reporting experience,” said Susan Zirinsky, CBS News president and senior executive producer. “Adriana’s reporting has spanned China, North Korea and Latin America to today’s coverage of COVID-19’s devastating impact on the nation. Jericka has distinguished herself in reporting the toughest, highest-profile stories that have hit the courts and gripped the country, including the trials of Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby and Breonna Taylor.”

Duncan starts on CBS Weekend News Dec. 6 and Diaz begins Dec. 12 from CBS News’ bureau at WBBM Chicago. Both anchors will assume their permanent timeslots in January.

Related: Pandemic Reshapes News Business

“In this 24/7 news cycle, we are thrilled to have such strong journalists leading the CBS Weekend News,” said Kim Godwin, CBS News’ executive VP of news. “Duncan and Diaz will continue to enhance CBS News’ coverage of the most important stories of our time.”

Duncan is a national correspondent for CBS This Morning and the network. She joined CBS News in 2013. 

Diaz is a national correspondent based in Chicago. She joined CBS News in 2012. 

CBS News has used a rotating team of anchors since the CBS Broadcast Center closed due to COVID in March, including talent from owned stations and affiliates. 

One bright spot amidst the pandemic nightmare, at least for station anchors, has been local talent getting to host the CBS Weekend News. The weekend evening newscast is operated out of the CBS Broadcast Center in New York, and when the building was closed in March with COVID-19 taking over, CBS News decided to tap anchors and production staff at both owned stations and affiliates to deliver the newscast. 

Anchors said the chance to perform on a national stage has been something of a dream come true. “It was a moment of, ‘Hey, for a minute here, I have made it,’ ” said
Debby Knox, anchor at WTTV Indianapolis, who anchored May 9. “I thoroughly
enjoyed it.” 

CBS News started with its owned stations, as DeMarco Morgan of KCBS Los Angeles anchored March 14-15 and Doug Dunbar of KTVT Dallas did so March 21-22 and 28-29. KTVT’s news director mentioned to Dunbar midweek that he might anchor for the network that weekend. “My initial reaction was, ‘Who, me?’ ” Dunbar said. 

The lack of a direct content pipeline between CBS News and KTVT meant some challenges with getting all the parts in order, which Dunbar said ended up working out fine. “If I said I didn’t have butterflies, I’d be lying,” said Dunbar. 

KIRO Seattle anchor Monique Ming Laven, who helmed CBS Weekend News May 2-3, said she is “in awe” of the network pulling off newscasts from remote locations. “They have a completely different workflow from ours,” she said. 

Affiliates that have contributed include WGCL Atlanta April 18-19, KOIN Portland May 16-17 and KMOV St. Louis May 30-31. Kim Godwin, executive VP at CBS News, called the initiative “an opportunity to strengthen our relationship with affiliates.” 

CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell anchored a special newscast focused on George Floyd’s death June 6, bringing CBS Weekend News back in-house. 

Local Flavor 

Station anchors were encouraged to get a story or two from their region into the lineup. For KIRO, it was about Seattle auto shop Benchmark Motoring shifting its focus to manufacturing protective equipment for workers combating coronavirus. For KOIN, it was the 40th anniversary of Mount St. Helens erupting. 

KOIN anchor Jeff Gianola said his appearance was a win for the Portland market. “People have that hometown feeling and this was their moment to shine,” he said. 

Anchors admitted to nerves before going on-air. Gianola said if he had known about the hundreds of people who would email and text him after the broadcast, he would’ve been more nervous. Dunbar wore a Cancer Warrior bracelet in memory of his deceased mother to settle his nerves. 

Dunbar wrapped his national newscasts with a subtle nod to legendary CBS anchor Bob Schieffer. He knew how Schieffer, who grew up in Fort Worth, would often refer to the market as Fort Worth-Dallas, the inverse of how it’s normally referred to. Anchoring from KTVT’s studio in Fort Worth, Dunbar concluded his newscast with a sign-off from “Fort Worth-Dallas.” An email from Schieffer soon turned up, acknowledging “the inside joke of all inside jokes.” 

“I want you and everyone there to knowjust how appreciative and proud I am for what you are doing,” wrote Schieffer. Said Dunbar, “It filled my heart that one of the legends of CBS News said, ‘I heard what you said.’ ” 

Anchors from KMOV St. Louis will anchor CBS Weekend News May 30-31. Samantha Jones anchors on Saturday and Steve Savard anchors Sunday. 

The CBS affiliate is owned by Meredith. Affiliated stations, such as KOIN Portland and WGCL Atlanta, have been pitching in with the network’s weekend evening news with the CBS Broadcast Center shut due to the pandemic. 

“I think it’s a great opportunity to show off what we think is a great anchor team, and a great city to the nation,” said Scott Diener, KMOV news director. 

Other KMOV news personnel will contribute to the weekend newscasts. Diener said they hope to include a local story or two in the national broadcast. 

St. Louis is DMA No. 23. 

Jones and Savard anchor the News 4 newscasts at 6 and 10 p.m. weeknights. Jones graduated from the University of Arkansas and previously worked at stations in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas. 

Savard came to KMOV as sports director in 1994. 

Reena Ninan and Elaine Quijano usually anchor CBS Weekend News. Norah O’Donnell anchors CBS Evening News from Washington during the week.

Anchors at KOVR Sacramento, which is part of CBS Television Stations, will anchor CBS Weekend News May 23-24. Tony Lopez anchors May 23 and Elizabeth Klinge anchors May 24. 

Talent at both CBS-owned stations and CBS affiliates have been anchoring the network’s evening news on weekends, with the CBS Broadcast Center in New York out of commission due to the pandemic. KOIN Portland (Oregon) anchor Jeff Gianola hosted the evening news May 16-17. 

Los Angeles native Lopez anchors the CBS13 News at 4, 5, 6, 10 and 11 p.m. 

Klinge, from Iowa, previously anchored mornings at KCCI Des Moines. She joined KOVR in March and anchors weeknights. 

Sacramento is in DMA No. 20.

Debby Knox and Bob Donaldson, anchors at CBS affiliate WTTV Indianapolis, will anchor CBS Weekend News May 9-10. Affiliates have been pitching in with the network’s weekend evening news with the CBS Broadcast Center in Manhattan closed due to the pandemic.

WTTV is part of Nexstar.

Knox will anchor Saturday, May 9. She came on board at WTTV, known as CBS4, after a long run at WISH Indianapolis, where she retired late in 2013.

Related: CBS’ Owned Stations Pitch in With National Newscasts

WISH was the CBS affiliate in DMA No. 25 until 2015, when the affiliation switched to WTTV.

Knox called it “a true honor” to helm CBS Weekend News, as she’s watched the network’s newscasts since her childhood. “I watched Walter Cronkite deliver the news when JFK was assassinated. I watched CBS from my living room when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon,” she said. “[This] is something I have only dreamed about since I was a young girl wanting to become a journalist.”

Donaldson anchors CBS Weekend News Sunday, May 10. Donaldson’s career has seen him in Beaumont, Texas, Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City and Little Rock. He shifted to Indianapolis in 1991, working at WTTV sibling WXIN before moving to WTTV.

"All of us at Nexstar and CBS4 welcome the opportunity to help the network meet the unprecedented challenges it faces right now,” said Donaldson. “I have a daughter living in New York City just a few miles from the epicenter of the outbreak. I know how difficult it’s been for all the news networks to fulfill their important mission while protecting their employees at the same time. We’re committed to helping them achieve those goals this weekend."

Reena Ninan and Elaine Quijano usually anchor CBS Weekend News. Norah O’Donnell anchors CBS Evening News from Washington during the week.

Anchors at KCBS Los Angeles, KTVT Dallas, WGCL Atlanta and KIRO Seattle have anchored the network’s evening news on weekends. Kim Godwin, CBS News’ executive VP, said the move happened “out of necessity” and benefits both the stations and the network.