NBC4 news anchor Aaron Gilchrist announced he will be leaving the station he has called home for nearly 11 years to join NBC News as an anchor for NBC News NOW, the network’s streaming news channel, based in New York.
As the anchor of Washington, D.C.’s No. 1 morning news program, Gilchrist and co-anchor Eun Yang have established themselves as a dedicated team that has helped viewers start their days for the last eight years. During his tenure, Gilchrist has also played a key role in local political coverage, participated as a key editorial lead in the station’s “Inequality in America” franchise and represented NBC4 at dozens of appearances throughout the Washington region.
“What a fantastic 10-year run Aaron has had here,” said Mike Goldrick, vice president of news for NBC4. “It didn’t take long for him to establish himself with our viewers as a sharp anchor and compelling storyteller.”
Gilchrist, who has filled in as an anchor on MSNBC, previously worked as a reporter and anchor for WWBT-TV, NBC’s station in Richmond where Gilchrist was raised.
Yang’s new co-anchor is no stranger to NBC4 viewers. Jummy Olabanji will take over the position when Gilchrist signs off at the end of the year.
Olabanji is a native of Fairfax County, Virginia, and started her career as an NBC4 intern while attending Virginia Tech. After stops at other television stations including WJLA-TV in Washington and WNBC-TV in New York, Olabanji returned home 18 months ago to continue her career in the newsroom that helped launch it. She and her husband, a political journalist, live in Washington, D.C.
Gilchrist is not the first NBC4 journalist whose career continued at NBC News after leaving the station. Today anchors Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin and correspondents Miguel Almaguer and Meagan Fitzgerald are also NBC4 alumni.
