ABC11 weeknight reporter leaves after 6 years at the station. What he’ll do next
An ABC11 weeknight reporter is leaving the station after nearly seven years for a new job.
Josh Chapin, a Duke University alumnus, begins his role as a reporter/anchor for ABC affiliate WJLA in Washington, D.C. next week. His last day on air for ABC11 was Friday, Nov. 15.
“The decision was not one I took lightly,” Chapin told The News & Observer over the phone. “I mean, I love this place. It has so many deep memories for me.”
While moving to the nation’s capital wasn’t something Chapin had always planned to do, he said, this opportunity “spoke” to him.
“Who can think of a better place to be situated and to be doing the news for the next few years? The nation is looking for answers and looking to see what another Trump presidency means for them,” he said. “I can’t think of a better time to be in Washington.”
Chapin described this transition as “bittersweet” and looks back fondly on his years at ABC11 and in the Triangle.
“Since I told people about my goodbye a week ago, I can’t tell you how moved I’ve been by everyone’s kindness and generosity and the comments I’ve gotten just being out and about, trying to pack myself up,” Chapin said. “It’s been really incredible and overwhelming.”
Chapin is the latest on-air journalist to leave ABC11 in recent months, following longtime anchors John Clark and Anthony Wilson.
Josh Chapin’s journalism career
Before joining ABC11, Chapin worked as a general assignment reporter in Houston for CBS affiliate KHOU 11 News, and as a reporter and fill-in anchor for WVIT, an NBC affiliate in Hartford, Connecticut, according to his ABC 11 bio.
His career in television news began in New York, his home state, where he worked at News 12 The Bronx and Brooklyn.
During his time at ABC11, Chapin covered a variety of stories for the evening news, but a few projects stand out.
He is proud of the way he and his colleagues covered crime in Durham, pushing elected officials for answers and solutions to some of the city’s issues, especially as the Triangle’s population continues to grow.
“I think just that ongoing conversation has meant a lot to me. I wish we could have done more, but that’s one that’s always been big for me,” he said.
Chapin also reported on the death of UNC student Molly Rotunda earlier this year and helped hold the university and football team accountable.
And, as a Duke alumnus, covering the 2022 Final Four matchup between his alma mater and UNC was a treat.
“People on the air know what kind of blue I bleed,” he said. “To be able to be in New Orleans to experience that, and you know, Coach K’s last season — I mean, that was a couple years ago, but I will cherish that for a lifetime, to be able to have been there.”
This story was originally published November 20, 2024 at 1:45 PM with the headline "ABC11 weeknight reporter leaves after 6 years at the station. What he’ll do next."
