Peggy Bunker Appears to Be New NBC Bay Area, (KNTV), Weekend Anchor; Veteran Anchor Replaces Diane Dwyer

 Peggy Bunker, who has been guiding the morning ship at NBC Bay Area, (KNTV), at 11 AM is set to join Terry McSweeney as the new weekend co-anchor.


Nothing is official but a source told me the job is Bunker's if she wants it.


Bunker replaces Diane Dwyer, who left the gig  after a lengthy tenure to return to full-time motherhood and continue teaching at Berkeley.




Bunker already has begun working the weekend shift and figures to make it a smooth transition in San Jose. Oh, get this: Bunker is a dog lover and don't mess with her terriers, got it?


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Dwyer Leaving NBC Bay Area All About Schedule

 Unlike most of the decisions involving big-market talent in today's environment, Diane Dwyer's decision to leave NBC Bay Area, (KNTV) was not about the money. Dwyer, who will still do some occasional "special projects" work for the Southbay O and O, will work her last weekend newscast June 8.

Reached by phone, Diane was philosophical: "I'm disappointed that we couldn't work out a deal to maintain my current schedule, but I'm also pleased that we found a compromise that keeps me here, albeit in a much smaller role."




Broadcast sources close to KNTV told me that management wanted Dwyer to work a full time schedule, (anchoring Saturday/Sunday newscasts plus three days of reporting), but Dwyer, who teaches at Haas Business School at UC Berkeley and has a similar role at Stanford, was unable to accommodate that request. Dwyer also has two teenage kids.


It was only a few years ago that Dwyer took a big pay cut to maintain her schedule --this time, both sides could not reach agreement on the request.


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Monday Shocker: Longtime Bay Area Anchor Diane Dwyer Leaving NBC Bay Area

 Shocker: Diane Dwyer leaving NBC Bay Area, (KNTV)

NBC Bay Area weekend anchor, Diane Dwyer, a Bay Area native who also had a multi-year stint at KTVU, is leaving the station.

Her last broadcast is June 8. She will continue to be involved with the station on some special projects from time to time.

Dwyer teaches at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and is involved with the Institute of Design at Stanford.

VP of News and Director Jonathan Mitchell informed staff of Dwyer's departure in a memo--here's a portion:

Diane will be a part of some special projects in the year to come, and while we won’t see her every weekend, she’ll still contribute on-air from time-to-time.

 

I’d like to thank Diane for her years of service to NBC Bay Area and our community.  Diane is an excellent journalist and we’ll miss her on the weekends, but we’re excited about our future projects together.

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