SHEINELLE JONES NAMED WEEKEND "TODAY" NEWS ANCHOR

Jones Begins Her New Role Saturday, October 4

NEW YORK - September 15, 2014 - - Sheinelle Jones was named News Anchor of the weekend editions of TODAY. Jones, who joins NBC News from FOX in Philadelphia, will begin her new role Saturday, October 4.

"We are delighted to welcome Sheinelle Jones to NBC News," said NBC News President Deborah Turness. "She is an experienced journalist, a fantastic reporter and a dynamic interviewer who will bring so much to Weekend TODAY and the entire NBC News team."

For the past nine years, Jones served as co-host of FOX's Emmy Award winning "Good Day Philadelphia" where she reported local, national and international headlines, and interviewed notables from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Bill Cosby. She started at "Good Day" in July 2005 as a general assignment reporter for the broadcast.

During her time in Philadelphia, Jones received numerous awards within the community for her involvement with children and youth organizations. She received proclamations from the city of Philadelphia, and the states of Pennsylvania and Delaware citing her work as a journalist and volunteer.

Prior to joining FOX Philadelphia, Jones served as an evening news anchor and reporter for the FOX Tulsa, Oklahoma affiliate, KOKI. During her time there, Jones was awarded and honored by the National Association of Black Journalists and the Oklahoma Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Prior to her time at KOKI, Jones served as a morning anchor and reporter for WICS-TV in Springfield, Illinois.

Jones is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, and Links Inc., an international group of women devoted to enriching the lives of families in their communities. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism and Spanish.

Jones, who comes from a family of educators, takes a special interest in activities involving education. When she is not in the studio or volunteering in a classroom, Jones spends time with her family at home. She and her husband live in Manhattan with their 2-year-old twin son and daughter and their 5-year-old son.

You can follow Jones on Twitter (@sheinellejones), on Instagram (sheinelle_o), and on the Sheinelle Jones Facebook page.

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NBC's TODAY is the news program that informs, entertains, inspires and sets the agenda each morning for Americans. Airing live from 7 am to 11 am ET, TODAY reaches more than 5 million people every day through its broadcast, and millions more through TODAY.com, the TODAY app, and social media platforms. Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, Natalie Morales, Willie Geist, Tamron Hall, Carson Daly, Hoda Kotb, and Kathie Lee Gifford are the anchors and hosts of the weekday show, and Lester Holt, Erica Hill and Dylan Dreyer host on the weekends. Jamie Horowitz is the SVP and general manager, Don Nash is the executive producer, and Dee Dee Thomas is the executive producer of the weekend editions.