Former Dallas anchor Hanna Battah named ‘WNN’ co-anchor

“ABC World News Now” and “Good Morning America First Look” has added former Dallas anchor Hanna Battah to the anchor desk alongside co-anchor Sophie Flay.

The duo debuted Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. 

Battah exited KDFW, the Fox-owned station in the Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas, market in October 2025, with her station noting she was “moving on to something new.”

Battah replaces Andrew Dymburt, who had been the shows’ co-anchor since August 2022. Flay replaced Rhiannon Ally earlier in 2025. Prior to that, Mona Kosar Abdi, appeared alongside Dymburt. 

Dymburt had disappeared from the broadcast earlier in the year but began appearing on other ABC News shows, including offering reports for “Good Morning America” and anchoring on ABC News Live.

His official biography on the ABC News press site still lists him as co-anchor of “WNN” and “First Look,” but given that Battah was introduced as the new “permanent” and “official” co-anchor on Dec. 1, it appears he will no longer appear at the anchor desk for the program — at least on a regular basis.

The “WNN” anchor chairs are widely seen as a stepping stone for more prominent roles in television news. Anchors are often recruited from local newsrooms in larger markets and spend a few years on the overnight shift before moving on to another role.

Past “WNN” anchors who have moved on to larger roles within the industry include current “ABC World News Tonight” anchor David Muir and CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.

Diane Macedo, who anchored the broadcasts from 2016 to 2018, has since become an ABC News Live anchor. Janai Norman, who co-anchored the overnight and early morning newscasts from 2018 to 2020, is now a weekend anchor on “GMA.”

“WNN” anchor tenures tend to last only a few years and often one co-anchor will depart the broadcast while the other remains at the desk for more time.

“WNN” is ABC News’ overnight news program that the network offers its affiliates as a way to fill overnight hours. It typically airs live starting at 2 a.m. Eastern. The show typically produces 30-minute blocks that are then offered on a loop until 8 a.m. unless updates are required. The later hours of the loop typically only appear on affiliates outside the Eastern time zone.

“First Look,” which was previously known as “America This Morning” and “ABC World News This Morning,” is designed as an early morning offering.

Both shows typically share production resources and talent and feature a more relaxed, often irreverent tone that has gained a following of many “insomniacs,” as the show calls its fans.

The exact airtime can vary from market to market and some stations only use a portion of the feed.

Currently, some ABC-owned stations in major markets do not air “WNN” at all, though some do pick up all or part of “First Look” before their own local news starts. Both shows are streamed on ABC News Live, however, with the streamer typically picking up large blocks of both programs to fill overnight and early morning hours.