Sara Just, the deputy bureau chief in Washington, D.C., for ABC News, will take over as executive producer of PBS NewsHour Sept. 2, WETA announced Thursday.
Just
The appointment ends a months-long search to replace Linda Winslow, who has worked on the weeknightly news program since the mid-1970s and served as executive producer for the past nine years.
Just will report to Rick Schneider, president of NewsHour Productions LLC and chief operating officer of WETA. The Arlington, Va., station created the subsidiary when it acquired the program from MacNeil/Lehrer Productions July 1.
In the announcement, Sharon Rockefeller, WETA president, called Just “an enormously accomplished, acclaimed journalist.”
Just spent more than 25 years with ABC News, most recently running its D.C. bureau and serving as Washington producer for Good Morning America. She worked for 17 years at Ted Koppel’s Nightline, moving to ABC’s digital department in 2006. There she led ABCNews.com’s political coverage of two presidential campaigns. Along the way she received nine Emmy Awards, two duPont Silver Batons, two Peabody Awards and an RFK Journalism Award.
In a memo to colleagues, ABC News President James Goldston called Just “an exceptional leader and dedicated producer.”
“I look forward to leading the PBS NewsHour, a cherished and trusted brand for journalism,” Just said in WETA’s statement. “I am honored to play a role in its journalistic legacy and bring that to the next generation as well.”
Winslow will retire from the show after a transition period.
PBS NewsHour, co-anchored by Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff, airs on more than 300 public television stations, on public radio in select markets and on digital platforms.
Totally awesome!!! Miss Just will work much better on public television. #PBSNEWS