Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: After four months of tryouts, Los Angeles Fox station KTTV has named Maria Sansone as the new permanent co-anchor of its morning program Good Day LA. Her appointment is being announced to the station’s staff today. Sansone succeeds original co-host Dorothy Lucey, who departed at the end of May when her contract was not renewed. Sansone, among the guest anchors KTTV tried out over the summer, will start October 1, co-hosting the morning news program from 7-10 AM PT alongside co-anchor Steve Edwards, meteorologist Rick Dickert, weather anchor Maria Quiban and regular contributor Jillian Reynolds. “Having started her career in television at age 11, Maria has interviewed everyone from pop culture icons and sports legends, to everyday people with compelling stories,” said Kevin Hale, VP and General Manager of KTTV. “Her contagious energy and signature style will be vital to the next generation of Good Day LA.”

Related: Dorothy Lucey’s Farewell On ‘Good Day L.A.’

Sansone was discovered by then WJET-TV 24 reporter Mike Gallagher when he interviewed her for winning a kid’s slam-dunk contest in Erie, Pa. By age 11, she was hosting WJET’s sports segment, Down To Size, which appeared weekly on the station. Most recently, Sansone was a field reporter for WNBC 4 New York, appearing daily on LX New York. While at NBC, she hosted the nationally syndicated travel show, LXTV 1st Look and reality competition series On the Rocks: Search for America’s Best Bartender and The Match Off. Before that, Sansone was a correspondent for TV Guide Network and was part of the channel’s live coverage of the Emmys, Grammys and Academy Awards. She has contributed to Access Hollywood, EXTRA, ABC’s On The Red Carpet, CBS Sports, NESN, ESPN and has appeared on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Good Morning America, The CBS Early Show and Dateline NBC.

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