Veteran journalist will re-join the station in July
WSLS-10 announced that John Carlin will be returning as the lead male news anchor for the station. He will join Karen McNew on the anchor desk for the 5, 5:30 & 6 p.m. newscasts weekdays. He will co-anchor the 11 p.m. newscast with Lindsay Ward during certain months of the year. Carlin will officially re-join the station on Monday, July 8.
“The market wants a proven journalist and dedicated community leader, and that’s what we have in John Carlin,” said WSLS-10 General Manager Leesa Wilcher, citing Carlin’s involvement in Roanoke-based non-profits and track record as an award winning reporter. “Our mission is to serve this community by presenting newscasts people can trust, and John is a person who meets that standard.”
In addition to his anchor role, Carlin will continue to be active in the community where he chairs the YMCA Corporate Board of Directors and Saint Francis Service Dogs. He is also a member of the board of Junior Achievement and helps with the Tank Team volunteers at the recently re-opened Center in the Square. John is co-founder and vice chair of the Blue Ridge Marathon.
“The ability to report the news, but also be able to work in the community was an important factor in my decision to return,” said Carlin, who retired from journalism in 2008 to pursue a career in public relations. “But honestly, I have looked at life with and without broadcasting, and I realized this really is where I belong. Sometimes you have to live without something before you realize how important it is in your life.”
Carlin will also file reports from the field, specializing in his trademark, out of the way stories that introduce viewers to the unique people and places often found in rural areas. “John has a special knack for finding stories and he loves the Virginia countryside. We want him to have the time to travel across the Commonwealth and find those stories to bring them back to share with our viewers,” said WSLS-10 News Director Melissa Stacy.
Carlin worked as lead male anchor at WSLS-10 for 21 years from 1987 to 2008. During that time the station earned three National Edward R. Murrow awards for Journalism and the 2007 Peabody award for its coverage of the shootings at Virginia Tech. Carlin is also a four-time Emmy winner.
WSLS is a News Partner of the Roanoke Star
