Western New York news viewers will soon be seeing a trio of new reporters on WKBW-TV (Channel 7) who just graduated from Syracuse University.
Meanwhile, two members of last year’s class of a partnership between the station’s owner and Syracuse will continue at the station after their year in the program is over.
Rebecca Thornburg and Nikki DeMentri will remain in the Channel 7 newsroom as full-time multimedia journalists (MMJs).
They were part of the Journalism Career Program (JCP) between E.W. Scripps, Channel 7’s owner, and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in which Syracuse graduates work at a Scripps station for a year to get experience as broadcast journalists.
A third member of the class, James Groh, is becoming the first digital MMJ at a station in Milwaukee, WTMJ. A fourth member of the class, Sean Robson, is pursuing a career in social media and marketing in New York City.
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The hiring of Thornburg and DeMentri brings to three the number of Syracuse graduates in the JCP who remain at Channel 7.
They join Jeff Slawson. Another JCP graduate, Josh Bazan, stayed at Channel 7 before leaving for Scripps’ sister station in Cincinnati.
he news of the hiring of Thornburg and DeMentri comes as the station plans to welcome the fourth class of the JCP from Syracuse. They start June 17.
The three MMJs joining the station for the yearlong program are Olivia Proia from Youngstown, Ohio, Taylor Epps from South Jersey and Gilat Melamed from Queens. The fourth member of the class is Jeddy Johnson, a digital MMJ from Stamford, Conn.
“We continue to be incredibly impressed by the quality of the graduates from The Newhouse School at Syracuse University,” said Michael Nurse, vice president and general manager, in a Channel 7 release. “This Journalism Career Program (JCP) continues to be a tremendous asset for both WKBW and Scripps.”
“We know trustworthy journalism is more important than ever before," said Channel 7 News Director Rob Heverling in the same release. "So, it’s a great opportunity for our newsroom team to help our JCPs develop into standout journalists. Each of our four incoming JCPs have remarkable potential. It’s exciting that our newsroom team is growing! We get to keep two of our current JCPs who have spent the last 12 months developing into solid reporters. Rebecca and Nikki have shown tremendous growth. They are making an impact covering important and meaningful stories here in Western New York. We are thrilled they have accepted offers to stay with 7 Eyewitness News.”
email: apergament@buffnews.com