April 26, 2021 – Newark, NJ – NJ PBS, New Jersey’s public television network, announced that its news division, NJ Spotlight News, is welcoming two new correspondents to its team this week. Jenyne Donaldson and Melissa Rose Cooper will contribute to the newsroom’s on-air and online coverage beginning this week, reporting directly to Jamie Kraft, Senior Managing Editor of NJ Spotlight News.

“We are thrilled to have such talents as Jenyne and Melissa join the NJ Spotlight News team,” said Kraft. “Each brings with her multifaceted news reporting experience and a passion for covering different parts of the state; Melissa the North, Jenyne the South. They will help us to further drill down into the issues affecting New Jerseyans all across the Garden State.”

Jenyne Donaldson previously reported for WJZY in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was instrumental in making the 10 p.m. Newscast #1 in the market. Prior to that, she reported and anchored for WTVM in Columbus, Georgia, and also in Wichita Falls, Texas. She considers this move to NJ Spotlight News a homecoming, as she started her career at KYW in Philadelphia – where her family still lives – covering local events like Hurricanes Sandy and Irene.

Melissa Rose Cooper is a reporter and multimedia journalist with over a decade of professional experience reporting, shooting and editing video, and producing daily newscasts. She has covered a variety of stories, from breaking news and crime to local issues. She also hosted her own weekly food segment for two years called, “Tasty Tuesdays,” featuring different eateries across New York. Her career highlights include covering Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s 86th birthday celebration in her hometown of Brooklyn in 2019, and reporting personal accounts of New York area residents in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Major funding for NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi is provided by RWJBarnabas Health, NJM Insurance Group, New Jersey Education Association, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and Orsted.

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ABOUT NJ PBS

NJ PBS, New Jersey’s public television network, brings quality arts, education, and public affairs programming to all 21 counties in the state. Headquartered at the Agnes Varis NJ PBS Studio in Newark, with additional studio space at New Jersey City University, the network offers diverse local programs including Chat Box with David Cruz, NJ Business Beat with Rhonda Schaffler, Here’s the Story, Drive By History, One-on-One with Steve Adubato and State of the Arts and PBS favorites such as Nature, NOVA, Amanpour and Company and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. Its award-winning newsroom provides multiplatform reporting from across the Garden State on its weeknight newscast, NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi, and digitally via NJSpotlightNews.org, plus live news specials, roundtable discussions and daily newsletters. The MyNJPBS.org network website offers online programs and free digital resources for educators via PBS LearningMedia New Jersey. NJ PBS is operated under an agreement with the state of New Jersey by Public Media NJ, Inc. (PMNJ), a non-profit affiliate of The WNET Group, parent company of award-winning New York public television stations THIRTEEN and WLIW21.