Huebner out, Goetz in as anchor for VNL's 10 p.m. slot

FARGO – Longtime Fargo TV anchor Robin Huebner announced to Valley News Live viewers Thursday night that the 10 p.m. newscast would be her last in that time slot.

Huebner will continue to co-anchor the 6 p.m. VNL newscast on KVLY-TV 11, and she also will now anchor the 5:30 p.m. VNL newscast on KXJB-TV 4, said Jim Wareham, the station’s president and general manager.

Stephanie Goetz will now co-anchor the 10 p.m. newscast with Mike Morken, as well as anchor the 5 p.m. newscast on KVLY and a new 6:30 p.m. newscast on KXJB that will launch Sept. 12, Wareham said.

“We want to do a better job, especially with our 5:30 newscast on KXJB, and so we’re just trying to figure out the best players that we can for each one of the newscasts,” he said. “We thought Robin would give us a good shot at improving the 5:30 newscast.”

By this morning, several people upset with the announcement or thirsting for more information had posted comments on the station’s Facebook wall.

“Robin is the most professional newscaster. If she truly is being moved, it will be a loss to 10pm news!” one person posted.

“What the heck is going on with this station? I think I need to start watching a different news station. Let Eric Hanson go and now Robin is done at 10! Is she going to be on at a different time or did you let her go also?” another wrote.

One person posted that Huebner “seemed upset about the news,” but Wareham said Huebner knew the change was coming. However, there was a “little bit of a mix-up” regarding when the change would be announced, he said. Wareham said he thought Huebner was going to announce it at the end of tonight’s 10 p.m. newscast, but he wasn’t aware that Huebner had the day off Friday.

“But, you know, we’ve talked about this throughout most of the summer,” he said.

In a phone interview, Huebner said she's heard feedback from viewers, but that she's not authorized to talk with other media about the changes.

To make room for the new 6:30 p.m. newscast on KXJB, Wareham said several programs will be shuffled around starting Sept. 12:

• “Wheel of Fortune” will jump from KXJB to KVLY, which currently airs “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” at 6:30 p.m.

• Back-to-back episodes of “Millionaire” will air from 4 to 5 p.m. on KXJB, leading in to “Jeopardy!” and creating what Wareham said will be called the “brainiac block.”

• “Dr. Phil” will move from KXJB to KVLY, filling Oprah Winfrey’s former time slot from 4 to 5 p.m.

Huebner’s exit from the 10 p.m. slot is the latest in a number of changes involving popular faces in the station’s lineup.

Longtime KVLY/KXJB general manager and anchor Charley Johnson resigned in May 2010, citing personal reasons. He’s now a co-anchor at WDAZ-TV in Grand Forks.

Michelle Turnberg, who co-anchored Valley Today and anchored the noon newscast, was let go in June 2010. The station didn’t give a reason for her departure.

Daron Selvig left his co-anchor job on Valley Today in May to work for an engineering consulting firm.

Dallas-based Hoak Media owns KVLY-KXJB-TV.

Wareham noted that Huebner will continue to do two newscasts, only at different times.

“It’s just a realignment of our staff and so forth, and we’ve made some moves behind the scenes, too, with producers and all that kind of stuff, because we’re basically adding another newscast but we’re really not adding to our total number of people,” he said.

KXJB/KVLY lineups starting Sept. 12

KXJB-TV 4

4-5 p.m.: “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”

5 p.m.: “Jeopardy!”

5:30 p.m.: “Valley News Live” with Robin Huebner

6 p.m.: “CBS Evening News”

6:30 p.m.: “Valley News Live” with Stephanie Goetz

10 p.m. “Valley News Live” with Stephanie Goetz and Mike Morken

KVLY-TV 11

4-5 p.m.: “Dr. Phil”

5 p.m.: “Valley News Live” with Stephanie Goetz

5:30 p.m.: “NBC Nightly News”

6 p.m.: “Valley News Live” with Robin Huebner and Mike Morken

6:30 p.m.: “Wheel of Fortune”

10 p.m. “Valley News Live” with Stephanie Goetz and Mike Morken

Tags: news, updates, fargo