WCNC NBC 36 (NBC Charlotte) has named Sarah French co-anchor of WCNC’s evening newscasts.
WCNC NBC 36 (NBC Charlotte) has named Sarah French co-anchor of WCNC’s evening newscasts.
Sarah will join Fred Shropshire on NBC Charlotte News at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. starting in late March 2017.
“WCNC is thrilled to bring Sarah French to Charlotte,” said WCNC’s President and General Manager, Deborah Collura. “Sarah’s experience covering major news events, advocating for consumer rights and telling original stories are more reasons for viewers to turn to WCNC.”
“I'm very excited to join a growing team of journalists who are focused on the needs of local families. I look forward to being the person you can trust to share the most important stories to keep you informed. I can't wait to return to my Southern roots and become a part of the Charlotte community”, said Sarah French.
Sarah brings rich experience covering major world events to WCNC. She was on the ground covering the Boston marathon bombing, the destructive 2010 earthquake in Haiti and the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
“Sarah is the perfect complement to our talented team of journalists,” said Executive News Director, Matt King. “Sarah has the right balance of journalistic integrity and genuine care for the audience. Between her and Fred Shropshire, WCNC’s evening team is poised to continue the strong momentum the station has been building.”
Sarah joins WCNC from WHDH 7 News in Boston where she has been an anchor since 2011. She joined the station as the weekend evening anchor, and was promoted to weekday morning anchor in May 2015. She had most recently been moved to night side reporting and weekend anchoring shifts.
Previously, Sarah was the weekday morning and midday news anchor at WTIC FOX 61 in Hartford, Connecticut.
After the death of her friend and colleague Alice Morrin, Sarah became an advocate for domestic violence victims. Sarah focused a lot of her attention toward getting a 911 Texting Bill passed in Connecticut, with a goal of having a 911 Texting Bill passed nationwide.
Sarah won an Emmy for her Make-A-Wish series she started while at FOX CT. She also won an Emmy for her series Hope for Haiti, after traveling there in 2011. In 2010, she received the “Excellence in Local Television Award" by the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association for “Gay in America: Tensions & Tolerance," a special that focused on several teens who killed themselves after being bullied.
Prior to joining FOX CT in 2008 as the weekend anchor and weekday reporter, Sarah worked for the Olympic News Service in Beijing, China. While there, she covered women's artistic gymnastics for the 2008 Olympic Games, and interviewed athletes such as Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin.
Before that, she was an anchor and reporter at KOMU-TV NBC 8 in Columbia, MO - the commercial television station owned by the University of Missouri.
During college, Sarah worked as a staff writer for Life & Home Magazine, establishing a monthly health and fitness column. She also worked as an intern for NBC Universal in Burbank, CA, where she assisted in the production of NBC's annual Press Tour. While in Los Angeles, Sarah was a host for NBC's local television show, YourLA.
In 2006, Sarah won the title of Miss Missouri, and went on to compete in the Miss America competition. As Miss Missouri, Sarah worked as a spokesperson for the Susan G. Komen Foundation and Children's Miracle Network, traveling the state giving motivational speeches and speaking with young students through a program called Right Decisions, Right Now. She also won the Miss Arkansas Teen USA title in 2004.
Sarah is a proud member of Cherokee Nation, and was asked to speak at the National Trail of Tears Conference that was held in Springfield, Mo in 2006.
Born in Dallas, TX, Sarah grew up in Hot Springs, AR. She is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, the world's first school of journalism founded in 1908.
French is a member of Cherokee nation and moves to Charlotte with her husband, Chris, and their 18 month old daughter, Blair. She is a self-proclaimed “foodie”, a huge fan of the theater and enjoys spending her free time with her family.
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