WWAY’s Jeff Rivenbark to anchor evening newscasts, Matt Bennett returns to anchor GMC
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Jeff Rivenbark is turning off his alarm clock. For more than four years, WWAY viewers welcomed Jeff into their homes each morning as he delivered the news of the day as an anchor on Good Morning Carolina.
From the light-hearted, to the serious, each news story that aired during GMC was delivered with Jeff’s genuine commitment to journalism.
That’s why we knew Jeff would be perfect to fill the role vacated when Randy Aldridge announced he was retiring from WWAY.
Jeff’s experience, leadership, and integrity will help guide our team at night as we embark on this new chapter.
Jeff says he’s thrilled to be transitioning to nights to work again with his former GMC co-anchor, Hannah Patrick, who now anchors the evening newscasts.
A native of Burgaw and 1993 UNCW Alum, Rivenbark says covering the news in the Cape Fear is a very personal thing for him.
“My family and lifelong friends live here and keeping the people I love informed about news that matters is a very gratifying thing for me,” he said.
Jeff will join Hannah Patrick at 6pm, then anchor WWAY CBS at 7pm, WWAY News at 10pm on the CW, and the 11pm newscast.
But with Jeff leaving Good Morning Carolina, we knew we had to find an experienced journalist who could join our established morning team without skipping a beat.
As luck would have it, we didn’t have to look far.
After working at WWAY for five years as a reporter and later as weekend anchor, Matt Bennett left WWAY in November to pursue another opportunity in the area.
“I had covered devastating hurricanes, contentious elections, toxic chemicals in our drinking water, the controversial sale of New Hanover Regional Medical Center, a global pandemic, and countless other issues impacting the Cape Fear Region. I felt it might be time to take a step back. My girlfriend and I set out on a cross-country road trip, and returned to Wilmington ready to embark on a new career path,” Bennett said.
But when journalism is in your blood, it’s sometimes hard to stay away. We’re happy to announce that Matt will join Donna Gregory and Ramel Carpenter on Good Morning Carolina.
“Although I intended to move on, I never really closed the door on local news or my WWAY family. When the opportunity to join the Good Morning Carolina team presented itself, I felt called to return. I’m excited to pick up where I left off, focusing on the issues that are important to the diverse communities across our region,” Bennett said. “I consider myself especially lucky to be surrounded by the talent and experience of Donna and Ramel as we continue this journey together.”
Each anchor will assume their new roles on Wednesday. We hope you will tune in!
