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Interim weekend anchor Robert Kovacik will now be joined by former CNN Business News correspondent Stephanie Elam at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Channel 4. They will also be general assignment reporters during the week, the station's release says. “Having two anchors again will bring an exciting new vibrancy and pace to the broadcasts. Robert and Stephanie are two respected journalists with a terrific on-air presence," says VP and news director Vicki Burns. Bios from the release after the jump.
Since March, 2011, Kovacik has served as interim solo anchor on the weekend newscasts at 6PM and 11PM. He is also a multi-award-winning reporter, who has been with the station since July, 2004.Prior to joining NBC4, Kovacik was the West Coast correspondent and anchor for "National Geographic Today," the nightly news program that aired around the world on the National Geographic Channel.
Before that, he was an anchor and reporter for KCOP in Los Angeles for six years. After graduating from Brown University and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, Kovacik became the youngest anchor in the nation’s largest television market, New York, when he was named the anchor of KCET’s overnight venture “Nightworld.” He anchored hourly news updates and hosted the network’s first-ever live coverage of Manhattan's famous Halloween Parade.
Known for his in-depth and comprehensive reporting, Kovacik has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including Edward R. Murrow, Golden Mike, Emmy, Associated Press, Los Angeles Press Club and International Genesis awards.
Elam is a former CNN business news correspondent whose reports could be seen on CNN, HLN and CNN International. She often reported for “American Morning," breaking down the daily business and financial news for CNN's flagship morning show, and, frequently anchored the network’s weekly program, “Your Bottom Line.” During her tenure at CNN (August 2003 to April 2011), Elam covered myriad of stories that defined an era, from the worst financial period in decades to the death of Michael Jackson.
After graduating from Howard University with a degree in broadcast journalism, Elam began her career in New York as a copy editor for Dow Jones Newswires before joining Bridge News, an international news service, where she helped coordinate seamless 24-hour news coverage among the organization’s newsrooms worldwide.
While working for Bridge News, she made the transition to broadcast news when she began covering corporate earnings for the PBS program “Nightly Business Report” and, for WebFN, a streaming financial news site. Eventually, WebFN hired Elam as their only full-time reporter in New York. She would also anchor “Market on the Close,” a one-hour WebFN program that tracked the stock market in the last hour of trading, and "First Business," a weekly syndicated business program. After damage from the 9/11 terrorist attacks closed WebFN’s offices (located across the street from the World Trade Center), Elam covered Wall Street’s recovery and the stock markets from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange for the financial news site.
Elam also co-hosted “Black Enterprise Report,” a nationally syndicated program focused on business, career and financial education, from January 2005 to March 2007.
A native of California, Elam relocated to Los Angeles with her family in May of this year after 20 years on the East coast.