Atlanta News First Arriving In Northern Georgia

According to a statement, WGCL and WPCH are rolling out a new news mission to greater Atlanta. Beginning in October, all newscasts on both stations will be known as Atlanta News First. WGCL will also change its call sign to WANF.

The move comes 10 months after Gray Television, headquartered in Atlanta, completed the purchase of WGCL and Meredith’s other broadcast news stations.

“The people of Northern Georgia deserve a better, community-focused local news service on all platforms. This is the start of something new that will benefit Atlanta and its surrounding communities for years to come,” said Vice President and General Manager Erik Schrader.

“Weather must be a priority in Northern Georgia. Breaking News must be a priority. Investigative journalism that leads to change must be a priority. We’re the hometown station owned by a company located in Atlanta as well. Viewers trust local news to deliver stories that matter to them; stories the national news outlets won’t deliver. We’re committed to telling the story of our area. In 2022, we can’t be reducing the size of our news teams – we must keep growing and keep telling more stories that matter to Atlanta.”

Viewers can expect more local news, with more newscasts across WANF, WPCH and ANF+, the station’s free streaming app available on Roku, Amazon Fire, and Apple TV, said the Gray statement.

“Atlanta News First is a commitment to Atlanta and the people who make this such an incredible place to live,” said News Director Kim Saxon. “We aim to empower our audience every day through impactful local journalism, reliable weather and traffic, and a connection to our community. We believe in celebrating what is great about our city, and we are invested in doing our part to make it better.”

According to Gray, Atlanta News First has bolstered its broadcast news staff to rival any local affiliate in the southeast, including having the most meteorologists in Georgia, giving viewers a trusted First Alert weather expert ready to deliver up-to-the-minute updates as weather changes or threatens our area.

Overall, the station has added more than 50 new jobs in news, marketing, technology, and sales in the past year and is still hiring.