NJ PBS has announced that veteran journalist and New Jersey native Rob Nelson will serve as anchor of its new daily newscast, “NJ PBS News with Rob Nelson,” beginning Oct. 1.
Nelson brings 25 years of experience in print, local television, and national broadcast journalism to NJ PBS. A native of Mt. Laurel, he has reported and anchored for some of the nation's leading news organizations, including ABC News, WABC-TV in New York City, NewsNation and Scripps News.
The announcement comes as NJ PBS prepares for a new chapter under the leadership of the College of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. Montclair became the operator of New Jersey's public television stations on July 1 and the university assumes full control of NJ PBS programming and the daily newscast on Oct. 1.
“We are grateful to the team at NJ Spotlight News, including anchors Joanna Gagis and Briana Vannozzi, for their work shepherding the broadcast through this transition," said NJ PBS General Manager Ashlee Smith. "They have ensured that New Jersey audiences continued to receive the trusted news and information they rely on while we prepared for the Oct. 1 launch of NJ PBS News.”
Omnika Thompson, NJ PBS news director, said Nelson is an “extraordinary journalist with deep New Jersey roots and experience at every level of the news business."
“He understands what it takes to cover breaking news, hold institutions accountable and connect with audiences,” Thomapson said. “Just as importantly, he is coming home to New Jersey at an important moment for journalism and public media in our state.”
Nelson began his journalism career as a reporter at The Times-Picayune in New Orleans, covering education, crime and politics. He also covered the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
In 2007, he transitioned to television news, joining WWL-TV in New Orleans as an anchor and reporter. Nelson joined ABC News in New York in 2010 as co-anchor of World News Now and America This Morning. He anchored coverage of major breaking news events, including the killing of Osama bin Laden, the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the 2012 movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colorado.
He was later promoted to correspondent, reporting for Good Morning America, World News Tonight and Nightline. His reporting included the arrest of Boston mobster Whitey Bulger, the murder case against former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez and Nelson Mandela's hospitalization in South Africa shortly before the former South African president's death.
Beginning in 2014, Nelson joined WABC-TV, ABC's flagship station in New York City, where he served as weekend morning co-anchor and a general assignment reporter for six years. He covered hundreds of stories across the New York metropolitan area and was dispatched to report on major national events, including the 2015 church massacre in Charleston, South Carolina; Pope Francis' visit to the United States; the killing of six police officers in Baton Rouge; and the New York Mets' World Series run.
In 2020, Nelson became one of the inaugural anchors at NewsNation, a startup national cable news network based in Chicago. He anchored coverage of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, President Donald Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis, Election Night 2020, President Joe Biden's inauguration and the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
From 2021-2024, Nelson worked at Scripps News in Atlanta, anchoring its morning newscast and reporting from the ground during the Iowa caucuses, the New Hampshire primaries and both national political conventions ahead of the 2024 presidential election. He also anchored coverage of President Biden’s exit from the race and the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Nelson said he is excited to return to his home state and help build a new daily news program focused on the people and communities of New Jersey.
“New Jersey is where my story began, and I am incredibly proud to be coming home to help tell the stories of this state,” Nelson said.
Nelson attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on a full academic scholarship and graduated in 2000 with degrees in journalism and political science. He also served as editor-in-chief of The Daily Tar Heel, one of the nation's most decorated college newspapers.
The broadcast schedule for “NJ PBS with Rob Nelson” has not yet been announced.
