  04/18/06
- (from Jacksonville.com) - With his debut on First Coast News Monday,
Shannon Ogden took over as co-anchor of the weekday 5, 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts on WJXX
TV-25 and WTLV TV-12. He replaces Alan Gionet, who left the station last month. Ogden had
been an anchor and reporter with New England Cable News in Boston. Ken Tonning, general
manager of the station, said he received hundreds of applications for the position. About
seven applicants were brought in and filmed on the set with co-anchors Jeannie Blaylock
and Donna Hicken. Focus groups were then brought in to critique each one, Tonning said.
Blaylock co-anchors the 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts, Hicken the 11 p.m. "We liked Shannon
for a number of reasons," Tonning said. "He has an excellent journalism
background. We liked his on-air presence. He's confident, but he's got a comfortable
delivery." Ogden, a native of Arkansas, and his wife, Torrey, have one daughter.
Gionet left First Coast News to return to the weekend anchor position at KCNC-TV in
Denver, the same position he left in 1998 to come to Jacksonville. He did not have a job
there when his impending move was made public in October, but his hiring at KCNC was
announced the following month. First Coast News filled Gionet's anchor spot with other
reporters until Ogden's arrival.
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