KYW Philly Revamps 4:30 A.M. Newscast

CBS-owned KYW Philadelphia (DMA 4) will relaunch its early morning newscast, Eyewitness News This Morning (4:30-7 a.m. weekdays) in early April with Emmy Award-winning consumer reporter Jim Donovan in the anchor chair.  Donovan’s promotion puts him in the seat vacated by Ukee Washington, who moved to the evening newscasts last summer.

Donovan, who joined KYW in 2004, has pinch-hit on the anchor desk since last fall, most notably during storm coverage and live coverage of Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia in September. In addition to his new role, he will continue to cover the consumer beat in his popular “On Your Side” segments.

Brooke Thomas, most recently co-host of Tribune Television’s Eye Opener, a live, syndicated morning show broadcast out of Dallas, will join Donovan as co-anchor on the revamped morning news program with Meteorologist Katie Fehlinger and Traffic Reporter Meisha Johnson.

Thomas has been a stand-out in morning news programming in several markets including Memphis. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. Erika von Tiehl, current morning and noon news co-anchor, will be leaving KYW later this spring. Von Tiehl, who is getting married this June, is relocating to another city for a position that will be announced later.  In the interim, she will remain a contributor to Eyewitness News.