Giselle Fernandez is getting ready to reset her alarm. Spectrum News 1 in Los Angeles is set to announce that the veteran radio news anchor will host a new three-hour weekday show on Spectrum News 1 in Los Angeles called “The Rush Hour” beginning Aug. 19.
Fernandez’s move to afternoons is part of an anchor shift at the local news outlet. Fernandez previously hosted “Your Morning on Spectrum News 1”; now those duties will be taken over by Kelvin Washington, who will move from midday. “Your Afternoon on Spectrum News 1” is anchored by Amrit Singh, who will also continue to host the political interview show “Inside the Issues.”
Spectrum News 1 said it made the shift after recent research showed increased interest in the 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. daytime slot for local news — which it calls the “new prime time.”
“Spectrum Networks launched Spectrum News 1 in Southern California with the goal of transforming the news landscape in Los Angeles, meeting our audience where they are and growing our viewership to more than one million households per month in just six years,” said Kater Lee, Vice President of Original Programming and On-Air Talent Development, Spectrum News 1. “‘The Rush Hour’ is the next step in that journey.”
“The Rush Hour will feature breaking news and weather alongside Spectrum News 1’s signature local news coverage, with a priority on community storytelling,” she added. “Gisele will step into this role and continue to dig deep into the stories that impact Los Angeles residents. Supported by a team of journalists reporting from the field, Gisele will provide viewers with access to objective local news that impacts their lives every day. The additional moves by Kelvin and Amrit will allow them to each bring their distinct style to other parts of the day.”
The shift comes as Fernandez’s “Your Morning on Spectrum News 1” won the LA Area Emmy for Outstanding Morning Newscast last month. Overall, Spectrum News 1 has 17 nominations — up from 14 last year — at the 2024 LA Emmys, second only to PBS SoCal this year.
“I am incredibly proud of what we have built at Spectrum News 1 in the Los Angeles market over the past six years,” said Fernandez. “We have remained committed to providing unbiased, reliable and hyper-local coverage of the South at a time when comprehensive, contextual stories need to be at the forefront. While it is difficult to say goodbye to a great morning team, I am eager to expand our mission of telling great stories in an exciting and rapidly changing new television landscape.”
The three anchors have been with Spectrum News 1 since its launch in 2018. Fernandez, who has won nine Emmy Awards, also hosts the Emmy-winning weekly series “LA Stories” and has been named Journalist of the Year three times by the LA Press Club (he received the organization’s President’s Award in 2023).
Washington, who won a Golden Mike Award in 2021, hosted Spectrum News 1’s “50 Years of Hip Hop: From the Westside” and is a frequent contributor to Spectrum News 1’s “LA Times Today.” Singh hosted “Spectrum News Challenge” and the Golden Mike Award-winning limited series “Music Diaries.”
