ABC NEWS NAMES HANNA BATTAH AS CORRESPONDENT AND OVERNIGHT ANCHOR OF ‘WORLD NEWS NOW’ AND ‘GOOD MORNING AMERICA FIRST LOOK’

ABC News announced today that award-winning journalist Hanna Battah will join the network to co-anchor “World News Now” and “Good Morning America First Look” alongside ABC News’ Sophie Flay. She joins America’s No. 1 news network after more than 12 years as an anchor and reporter at various local stations across the country.

Most recently, Battah was anchor of KDFW-TV’s top-rated afternoon and early-evening newscasts in Dallas, where she was also co-anchor of “The Ten,” a largely unscripted program featuring wide-ranging live interviews. In her more than seven years in Dallas, she also frequently anchored major and breaking news events, including the 2024 presidential election results and the recent central Texas flood disaster.

Battah’s reporting experience spans the entire country, often placing her on the front lines of America’s biggest stories. She has covered stories from state legislatures in the Midwest, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with firefighters battling devastating West Coast wildfires, and reported on volatile tensions along the U.S. southern border. In 2018, she received a Lone Star Emmy® nomination for her team’s breaking news coverage of a pickup truck that intentionally crashed into the television station during its morning newscast, and the ensuing bomb squad investigation that unfolded live on the air.

Prior to joining KDFW-TV, Battah spent two years as an afternoon anchor and evening reporter for KBAK-TV/KBFX-TV in Bakersfield, California. Before that, she served as an anchor and multimedia journalist at KOMU-TV in Columbia, Missouri.

A graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Battah began her career in radio at Missouri Digital News, covering the state legislature in Jefferson City.

In her role at ABC News, Battah will bring viewers the latest headlines and breaking news in the overnight hours, leading directly into ABC Owned Television Stations’ and affiliates’ award-winning local morning programming.

Ken Kneeland serves as executive producer of “World News Now” and “Good Morning America First Look,” and Simone Swink serves as senior executive producer of both overnight programs, as well as the flagship “Good Morning America” and “GMA3.”

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