In August, long-running WFAA evening news co-anchor John McCaa announced that he is retiring. He’ll leave the station on March 1. On Monday, the station announced the replacement: a veteran anchor from Washington D.C.’s NBC affiliate. Chris Lawrence starts in January.
WFAA says Lawrence will read the news alongside Cynthia Izaguirre during the evenings and field anchor during major events.
He brings in some serious reporting chops: He was a national security correspondent for CNN for a decade, and has reported from Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Israel. He reported on Hurricane Katrina, the BP oil spill, and the Boston Marathon bombing. A little more from WFAA:
“We are pleased to welcome Chris and his family to WFAA and North Texas,” said Brad Ramsey, WFAA president and general manager. “Chris’ resume speaks for itself, as he has covered some of the most impactful stories of our time, but we are most excited about his ability to connect with the local audience and his interest in helping WFAA continue to lead the way on innovation.”
Lawrence previously worked for CBS Newspath, where he traveled to Rome to report on the sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. He has also covered local news for stations in Detroit, Syracuse and Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
The son of a teacher working in public schools, Lawrence grew up in the Midwest. He enlisted in the United States Navy Reserve at the age of 18, and later graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Lawrence and his wife are the parents of three young children, two girls and a boy.
