CHARLESTON, WV (Aug. 18, 2023) — WOWK-TV 13, serving the Charleston-Huntington DMA, is proud to welcome back award-winning anchor Pat Simon.
Pat will anchor 13 News at 5, 6, 7 and 11 p.m., Monday through Friday.
“I am beyond grateful for this opportunity to rejoin the talented staff (Amanda, Spencer, Cassidy and everyone) at 13 News,” Simon said. “It truly does feel like coming home again. I also can’t wait to reacquaint myself with old friends in our communities and meet new ones too. I look forward to telling your stories (again).”
His first day on the air will be Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. He previously anchored at WOWK from August 2016 to July 2019.
“This is a new era at 13 News. Pat’s experience, passion and personality make him a viewer favorite everywhere he goes—including the previous three years he was in Charleston. I’m really excited to see Pat alongside Amanda, Spencer and Cassidy,” Bob Schaper, WOWK News Director, said.
“We are thrilled to have Pat come home and rejoin our award-winning team of journalists at 13 News,” Sean Banks, vice president and general manager at WOWK, said. “He has a vast knowledge of the market and strong bonds in our local community. Together with Amanda Barren, Spencer Adkins, and Cassidy Wood, they bring years of expertise and integrity to our viewers and the people in the Tri-State.”
Pat’s television news career began in the 1990s in Baton Rouge covering politics and major stories like the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the capture of a serial killer. Pat continued his career in the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, where his investigative stories on underground contamination eventually led to remediation.
Pat then moved on to anchor and report in TV markets in northern Alabama and South Texas. His most recent investigative reports on dangerous and fatal wrong-way driving on a busy bridge led to the closure of a number of flawed bridge exits.
He is a passionate advocate for military veterans. His stories on veterans, their families and military history won numerous television journalism awards, including three prestigious Murrow Awards. A combat veteran himself, Lt. Col. Pat Simon served 30 years in US Army (Active, National Guard and Reserve) and retired in 2018.
Pat is a diehard LSU fan (Class of ‘90) and an avid runner. He even checked off an important bucket list item: qualifying for and completing the Boston Marathon (2017).
He is excited to be back among the friendly people of West Virginia and looks forward to meeting you and even taking on the challenging hills during workouts.
Reach out to Pat anytime with your story ideas – including veterans-related stories – by scanning the code or emailing him at psimon@wowktv.com.
About WOWK-TV
WOWK-TV is a Nexstar station in Huntington and Charleston, West Virginia. Broadcasting on channel 13, it is the CBS affiliate for the Charleston–Huntington market, the second-largest television market (in terms of area) east of the Mississippi River. It is owned by Nexstar and serves 32 counties in central West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, and southern Ohio. The station went on air on October 2, 1955, as WHTN-TV (for Huntington), an ABC affiliate. It swapped affiliations with WCHS-TV and became a CBS station for the first time in 1958. It went back to ABC in 1962 and stayed with that network for 24 years. In 1975, it changed its call letters to WOWK to reflect the three states it served–Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky. In 1986, WOWK changed affiliations again, returning to CBS. WOWK-TV’s vision is to be the No. 1 news resource for our viewers. Our mission is to report about our region and surrounding communities fairly, accurately and completely with the best informed and most professional news staff.
