Birmingham Anchor Shake Up

You know a station is struggling in the ratings when they shake up the Anchors just before the book starts.

WBMA ABC 30/40 in Birmingham has announced new anchors for its morning, midday and weekend newscasts and the changes take place Today (first day of the book),

AL.com writes that Wendell Edwards will co-anchor the ABC 33/40 morning news, and Honora Gathings will co-anchor the midday news. Sarah Snyder will anchor the weekend news beginning Saturday.

Edwards will join Ebony Hall and Sheri Falk on the morning news anchor desk weekdays from 4:30 to 7 a.m. He comes to ABC 33/40 from Oklahoma City ABC affiliate KOCO-TV, where he anchored and reported. He previously worked at stations in South Carolina, Michigan and Texas.

Gathings will join Linda Mays as the midday co-anchor weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon. A Birmingham native, Gathings has anchored the ABC 33/40 weekend news for the past two years and has been with the station since 2008. In addition to her anchor duties, she covers consumer issues for the station.

Snyder will replace Gathings in the weekend anchor slot at 6 and 10 p.m. Saturdays and 5 and 10 p.m. Sundays.  Born and raised in Birmingham, Snyder joined ABC 33/40 in 2011 and previously was an anchor/reporter at KEWS-TV in Midland, Texas. Snyder will continue to report for the 10 p.m. newscast during the week.

"We are excited to work with these talented journalists in their new roles," Wayne Reid, ABC 33/40's general sales manager and interim general manager, said in a media release. "Each of them brings a high level of trustworthiness, professionalism and experience that is expected by ABC 33/40 News viewers.  As a viewer myself, I am looking forward to seeing them on-air and in action."