This local TV reporter will take on a statewide role. What to know about the change
Two staffers at Raleigh’s CBS 17 News stepped into new roles at the station on Monday, Dec. 30.
Deana Harley became the new statewide capitol reporter, and Leslie Nash moved into the role of assistant news director.
Deana Harley promoted to statewide reporter
In a release from WNCN TV, News Director Derek Rowles said Harley was being promoted after working as a reporter and fill-in anchor for two and a half years at the station.
“In the years Deana has been at CBS 17, she’s proven herself to be a smart, talented, enterprising reporter who knows how to find the story,” Rowles said. “Her journalistic instincts along with her legal background are extremely helpful for CBS 17 News and all our connected stations across the state.”
Harley replaces Michael Hyland, who left the station in October, The News & Observer previously reported.
WNCN TV produces more than 41 hours of local news each week for the market including Raleigh, Durham and Fayetteville. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group, Inc., a national media company that owns or is a partner in 200 television stations in 116 U.S. markets.
In the new job, Harley will serve Nexstar stations across North Carolina, including WGHP in Greensboro, WJZY in Charlotte, WNCT in Greenville, WSPA in Asheville and WAVY in Norfolk, which also serves the N.C. Outer Banks, Rowles told The N&O in an email.
In a Facebook post announcing the promotion, Harley said, “At a time where politics make headlines every single day, I’m excited to dig deep into it all across North Carolina (and get a chance to put my law degree to work!)“
Harley joined the station in May 2022 after three years at the ABC TV affiliate in Salisbury, Md. She was the morning anchor at that station for two years.
At CBS 17, the release said, Harley has broken several stories, including an interview with one of the victims in the Hedingham mass shooting in Raleigh in October 2022.
Harley is a journalism and politics graduate of Ursinus College in Pennsylvania and has a law degree from Drexel University in Philadelphia.
Harley said she is looking forward to switching from being a general assignment reporter on breaking news – often bad news such as car crashes, shootings and stabbings – to having a beat, especially a high-profile one such as state politics. She hopes to stop listening so closely to the police scanner and develop a more consistent sleep schedule.
Still, she said, she’ll be busy, doing daily live shots for stations across the state.
It’s a good time to start on the beat: the beginning of a new Democratic governor’s administration with Josh Stein soon to be sworn in, facing a Republican-led state legislature. Harley said she expects her law degree to serve her well.
“It’s an exciting challenge,” she said.
Leslie Nash’s new role with CBS 17
Nash, who has been an executive producer at CBS 17 since 2019, came to Raleigh from WJTV in Jackson, Miss. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Announcing Nash’s promotion, Rowles said, “I’m thrilled to have Leslie as a partner, helping oversee CBS 17 News. She’s an incredible leader, an outstanding journalist and is well respected.”
Recent changes at CBS 17
WNCN TV has had a number of staffing changes since August, when two anchors announced they would be leaving, The N&O previously reported.
After Hyland left in October, the news director announced his retirement in early December and a new sports director started the following week.
This story was originally published December 30, 2024 at 2:59 PM with the headline "This local TV reporter will take on a statewide role. What to know about the change."
