WETA rolls out two programs to replace ‘PBS News Weekend’
WETA
With help from a capital campaign, WETA built a new production studio in Arlington, Va., to house PBS News programming.
WETA in Washington, D.C., and its news and public affairs hub PBS News announced the two weekend programs that will replace PBS News Weekend in January.
Like PBS News Weekend, both programs will be 30 minutes. Hosted by William Brangham, Horizons From PBS News will cover science, health and technology. The other will be Compass Points From PBS News, a foreign affairs program hosted by Nick Schifrin.
Horizons will premiere Saturday, Jan. 17, at 6 p.m. Eastern time. Compass Points premieres at the same time Sunday, Jan. 18. Both programs will be streamed online and distributed as video podcasts across platforms.
WETA and its subsidiary News Hour Productions announced last month that it would end broadcasts of PBS News Weekend as part of a restructuring prompted by the rescission of federal funding for public media. At the time of the announcement, a station spokesperson said two new programs would replace the show on Saturdays and Sundays.
“As we lay out the next chapter of PBS News’ multi-platform programming, we are delighted to launch two new weekend broadcasts, both of which will build on existing editorial strengths of our newsroom and allow us to dive deeper into topics our audiences care about deeply,” said Sara Just, PBS News senior EP and WETA SVP, in a news release. “As we have found with the success of Washington Week with The Atlantic, there is a growing and hungry audience for deep, nuanced conversations with knowledgeable guests that help shed light on critical issues and are a welcome break from some of the bite-sized, headline-grabbing news that proliferates so much these days.”
Horizons will dive into a single issue each week, with upcoming topics including the artificial intelligence race, medical advancements and climate science.
Brangham joined PBS News Hour in 2013 as a producer and correspondent and later became a substitute anchor. He has also worked for the WNET Group in New York and NOW on PBS and was a producer for Bill Moyers. The EP of Horizons will be Talesha Reynolds, who also works as a senior producer of content and special projects for News Hour.
Each episode of Compass Points will cover an aspect of how the American government’s interests and power are shaping global affairs. The show will feature a panel of experts, such as journalists and former government officials.
Schifrin joined PBS News Hour in 2015 as a special correspondent and has been foreign affairs and defense correspondent since 2018. Inside Putin’s Russia, a News Hour series he worked on, won a 2017 Peabody Award. He was also a member of the News Hour teams awarded a 2021 Peabody for coverage of COVID-19 and a 2023 duPont-Columbia Award for coverage of Afghanistan and Ukraine. Before joining News Hour, Schifrin was a foreign correspondent for NPR, Al Jazeera America and ABC News, reporting from London, Jerusalem, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The EP for Compass Points will be Stephanie Kotuby, who also works as EP of Washington Week with The Atlantic. She is also senior editorial producer for PBS News Hour.
The final broadcast of PBS News Weekend airs Jan. 11.
I look forward to these two new series of positive news.
News that is favorable, focusing on solutions, kindness, and progress rather than just problems.
News that makes people aware of global events helps citizens make informed choices when voting and holding their leaders accountable for foreign policy.
News that includes stories about generosity, human connection, scientific breakthroughs, or
community improvements, aiming to boost mood, build resilience, and restore faith in humanity.
What will happen to current anchor?
This is Julian Wyllie from Current: News for Public Media.
WETA’s spokesperson Mary Stewart previously told Current that anchor John Yang will become part of News Hour’s editorial staff going forward.
On January 3, 2026 ‘PBS News Weekend’ reported globally devastating breaking news — very importantly — in a way I could not find elsewhere.
What are these people thinking, I should just patiently wait until Monday for a recap ?
I understand the financial crisis that PBS faces, but this decision is very shortsighted.
We just saw the segment on gambling. Knowing little about the topic, other than the traditional data on how many people waste money on lotteries, usually low income and uneducated people who can least afford it, we were very impressed by the quality of the interviewing, the depth, breadth and excellence of the data and comments by the impressive experts. We learned a great deal and really appreciated the depth and overall quality of programming. Thank you!