Well-known WRAL anchor will leave the station soon. Here’s his last day on air
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Jeff Hogan ends WRAL tenure on Aug. 13 to rejoin WBNS in Columbus, Ohio.
- Chris Lovingood begins as WRAL morning co-anchor alongside Renee Chou on Aug. 14.
- Hogan joins a wave of veteran departures from WRAL during the past year.
Jeff Hogan’s days as a co-anchor at WRAL are running out.
Soon, the longtime morning anchor will leave the Triangle station for a new job out of state.
Chris Lovingood, already a fixture on the Channel 5 newscast, will step into his new role as co-anchor of the weekday morning news segments alongside Renee Chou after Hogan leaves, The News & Observer previously reported.
Jeff Hogan last day on air at WRAL
The last day to watch Hogan on WRAL is Wednesday, Aug. 13. Lovingood’s first day as co-anchor will be Thursday, Aug. 14.
Hogan joined WRAL in 2018, coming from the CBS affiliate WBNS in Columbus, Ohio. He started working there in 1998 and transitioned from sports coverage to news anchoring during his two decades at the station.
After he leaves WRAL, he’s heading back to WBNS, where he will anchor the evening news program.
“This was a tough decision,” Hogan said in a press release. “WRAL has been more than a newsroom — it’s been family. But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to return to a place that means a lot to me, and I’m excited for what’s ahead.”
Who is Jeff Hogan?
Hogan, a Pennsylvania native, attended the University of Rhode Island, where he played football.
His first job in broadcast journalism was in the West Texas city of Odessa. He was a sports anchor and reporter at the CBS affiliate KOSA. In 1995, Hogan started a new job as a sports anchor/reporter at WTVR in Richmond, Virginia, and in 1998, he moved to WBNS.
WRAL announced in late 2017 that Hogan would join the station early the next year and become the anchor replacing Bill Leslie, who was retiring after 33 years at the station.
Months after starting at WRAL, Hogan had an accident while bodysurfing in the ocean near Wrightsville Beach, an injury that left him temporarily paralyzed.
He returned to full-time work at WRAL about a month after the accident.
Recent WRAL departures
Hogan is the latest WRAL anchor or reporter to leave in recent months.
In June, North Carolina native Aaron Thomas left WRAL after six years at the station. A graduate of NC State University, Thomas now works as an anchor/reporter at WLWT in Cincinnati.
Debra Morgan spent 32 years at WRAL, co-anchoring evening news programs, before leaving in May. She is a 12-time Emmy Award winner and multiple winner of the Anchor of the Year Award by the NC Association of Broadcasters and RTDNAC.
Longtime Fayetteville reporter Gilbert Baez left WRAL in January, after the station did not renew his contract. He now hosts WFNC’s “Good Morning Fayetteville.”
This story was originally published August 6, 2025 at 3:36 PM with the headline "Well-known WRAL anchor will leave the station soon. Here’s his last day on air."
