Newest WLOSer: Leigh Ann Long

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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Last night I witnessed what I believe was the debut of the newest WLOSer, anchorwoman Leigh Ann Long. I didn’t hear WLOSers welcome her, but they may have in another broadcast.

Leigh Ann looks like a pro, and delivers the news in a no-nonsense fashion. What else can you say about a newsreader?

From my minimal Web research, it appears that Leigh Ann is from Ohio, and most recently moved to Asheville from a station in West Virginia. It looks as though her maiden name is Leigh Ann Woodbury, and that her husband’s name is Matthew Long.

Here’s an old bio of her:

Leigh Ann Woodbury is proud to be a part of the NBC 6 news team bringing you the latest news at 6pm and 11pm.

Leigh Ann joined WVVA in April 2006 after co-anchoring the evening news at WHCP-TV in Charleston, WV. Before that she worked as the weekend anchor and reporter at a nearby ABC affiliate and as an assignment editor for The Ohio News Network.

Leigh Ann caught the news bug after interning at several local stations in Columbus, Ohio. She also spent a few months interning with NBC network news in London, England.

Leigh Ann earned a B.A. in Communications and a minor in Business from The Ohio State University. She is a native of Ohio but has come to call the mountains of the Virginias home.

In her spare time Leigh Ann enjoys spending time with family and friends and never turns down a chance to get out into the great outdoors.

I couldn’t find much on the Charleston, W. Va., station mentioned in that bio, WHCP. It looked like a podunk CW station. But I did find this juicy tidbit, from a February 2006 story that was posted on the teevee news gossip site MediaLine.

Looks like Lee Ann was witness to some touchy station politics:

WB television news anchor Tom McGee was escorted from the WHCP-TV studio in Charleston on Tuesday afternoon by police, but he said he expects to be back on the air tonight.

Station manager Chuck Jones called Metro 911 at 4:05 p.m. and asked for help escorting McGee from the building, according to a 911 recording released late Tuesday.

Jones told a dispatcher that an employee “got up in my face earlier” and “asked me to step outside with him.” He later identified the employee as McGee.

Jones said McGee said, “I’m done. I’m outta here,” but later returned to the newsroom.

When police arrived, they asked someone at the building whether they indeed wanted McGee gone. The person said yes, Charleston police Lt. A.C. Napier said.

“[McGee] left willingly,” Napier said. “He didn’t give them any problems.”

The situation was too minor for officers to write a report, he said. No charges were filed.

Reached by phone Tuesday night, McGee said he expects to be back on the air tonight.

“There were some work issues being discussed,” he said. “I kind of try to represent the people there. They were asking questions regarding parking and health insurance. Beyond that, I’m supposed to have more conversations [with station management on Wednesday].”

McGee said nobody got in Jones’ face. He said he asked Jones to step outside so they could continue their discussion away from everyone else in the office.

The station’s owners could not be reached for comment Tuesday. A news director who answered the phone at the station said no one at the station would have any comment.

The WB station moved to Charleston from Portsmouth, Ohio, in November, and McGee and Leigh Ann Woodbury began anchoring the station’s 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts on Nov. 7. Woodbury anchored the 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts by herself Tuesday.

She did not mention McGee’s absence.

Finally, here’s a video of Leigh Ann in action:

Interview With Leigh Ann Long for In-Focus