Photo by Joseph Sinnott/NJTV

BRIANA VANNOZZI ELEVATED TO FULL-TIME ANCHOR FOR NJTV NEWS ON NEW JERSEY PUBLIC TELEVISION

NJTV News with Briana Vannozzi officially launches September 9 

September 9, 2020 – NEWARK, NJ – NJTV, New Jersey’s public television network, announced that Briana Vannozzi will officially take the helm as anchor of its flagship weeknight newscast, NJTV News. Beginning Wednesday, September 9, the program will assume the title, NJTV News with Briana Vannozzi. Vannozzi has been the interim anchor since March.

A multiple Emmy-nominated journalist, Vannozzi has served in several capacities at NJTV News since joining that team in 2012.  She began her tenure as a general assignment and multimedia correspondent, shooting, writing, and editing daily stories from the field. She was promoted to senior correspondent in January 2020 and has been sub-anchoring the newscast for the last several years.  She assumed full-time interim anchor duties in March when the pandemic caused closure of the Agnes Varis NJTV Studio and former anchor Mary Alice Williams stepped away from the desk to attend to family issues and eventually stepped down.  Vannozzi has been leading the broadcast remotely ever since.

“Briana is an incredible talent,” said Neal Shapiro, President/CEO of The WNET Group, which operates NJTV.  “A gifted journalist who combines both truth and heart in her storytelling, she is an ideal choice to become the next face of NJTV’s news division.”

“Briana has been an asset to the NJTV News team since day one and has done an extraordinary job taking the torch since COVID-19 shut us out of our studios six months ago,” said NJTV News Senior Managing Editor Jamie Kraft.  “Whether in the field, at the news desk or in her living room, she reports with a captivating professionalism and poise. She is widely respected by both the audience and her colleagues and believes in the mission of public television.  We are proud to have her represent us at the helm of NJTV News.”

“No matter my change in role, I’m centered on being a journalist first. I’m honored and humbled to serve as NJTV’s news anchor,” Vannozzi said. “I began my career in public television and I’ve found nothing more rewarding. The NJTV News and NJ Spotlight team is an unbelievably dedicated, hard-working, enthusiastic group of journalists and I’m looking forward to helping the news program grow.”

Vannozzi has also played a critical role moderating during NJTV’s political debates, panel discussions and at its community engagement events.  For more insight into her career, see her biography, below.

NJTV News airs weeknights at 6 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. on NJTV (check local listings).

Major funding for NJTV News is provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, New Jersey Education Association, New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Group, Orsted, PSEG Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and RWJ Barnabas Health.  Additional support for NJTV News is made possible by The E.J. Grassmann Trust, The F.M. Kirby Foundation, The Hyde and Watson Foundation, and The Union Foundation.

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About Briana Vannozzi

An award-winning journalist, Briana Vannozzi has served in several capacities since joining NJTV’s news division in 2012. Before becoming anchor of the network’s flagship news program, NJTV News, she was most recently the program’s interim anchor and senior correspondent after years of general assignment reporting as a multimedia journalist. That role entailed shooting, writing, and editing daily stories from the field across all station platforms. Her work for the station has taken her to the 2016 Democratic National Convention, the Women’s March on Washington, a Papal visit, Presidential Inaugurations, and just about every exit along the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike.

While at NJTV News she has served as a fill-in host for the station’s long-running public affairs programs, Reporters Roundtable and On the Record with Michael Aron. She has also moderated numerous political debates including for the 2018 midterm elections carried live by C-SPAN, as well as dozens of NJTV forums and community engagement panels on topics such as opioid addiction, affordable housing, and poverty. Over the last four years she has anchored election night coverage, and co-anchored gubernatorial budget, inaugural, and State of the State addresses.

Vannozzi began her television journalism career by cutting her teeth on New Jersey State House politics. First as an assignment editor/producer and later a reporter for New Jersey Network News. In 2011 she traded her camera for a microphone to join a seasoned group of news radio journalists at FM News 101.9 in New York City. There she covered crime, politics, and daily life in New York’s five boroughs. Her work has earned awards from the New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists and the Philadelphia Press Association, and multiple Emmy nominations. She’s produced several public affairs programs, is a frequent community forum moderator and guest lecturer for the journalism programs at The College of New Jersey, Saint Elizabeth University, and her alma mater Ramapo College of New Jersey. A Burlington County native, she is thrilled to be serving and covering her home state.

About NJTV

NJTV, New Jersey’s public television network, brings quality arts, education, and public affairs programming to all 21 counties in New Jersey and its tri-state neighbors. NJTV presents PBS series such as Nature, NOVA, Amanpour and Company, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Curious George, as well as diverse local programs including NJTV Learning Live, On the Record, Here’s the Story, Treasures of New Jersey, Drive By History,  One-on-One with Steve Adubato  and State of the Arts. The network’s flagship news broadcast, NJTV News, and its affiliate NJ Spotlight work in tandem to provide multi-platform reporting from across the Garden State while also producing live news specials and hosting roundtable discussions.

Headquartered at the Agnes Varis NJTV Studio in Newark, with additional studio space at New Jersey City University and resource partners across the state, NJTV engages with the communities it serves through regular studio tours, internship opportunities, local program screenings, and town hall-style convenings that highlight topics from healthcare, housing and poverty to education and the environment.  NJTV’s website offers online programs and free digital resources for educators via PBS LearningMedia New Jersey. Visit njtvonline.org to learn more.

NJTV is operated under an agreement with the state of New Jersey by Public Media NJ, Inc. (PMNJ), a non-profit affiliate of WNET, parent company of award-winning New York public television stations THIRTEEN and WLIW21. Network sponsorships and partnerships are available.