Rockford TV sports anchor shifts to news desk

ROCKFORD — Derek Bayne is transitioning from covering the gridiron, diamond and hardwood to reporting hard news.

The veteran 13 WREX Sports Director has been named co-anchor of the station’s 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. weekday newscasts alongside Brittany Hardaway. He'll begin his new duties in August.

Bayne will also co-anchor the station’s new 4 p.m. newscast, which is scheduled to launch in September.

"It's going to be an adjustment I think, but it's one that I'm looking forward to," Bayne, 40, said. "I think it will be a positive change. I'll have more of a reach in the community, I think, in terms of being a leader and being someone people rely upon to bring them the news. I'll still be going out in the field shooting stories, writing and editing. I just get to bring the vast experience I've built up over the years doing sports, I'll get to bring that to news now."

Bayne joined 13 WREX in December 2011.

He earned a regional Edward R. Murrow Award in 2022 for his story highlighting the Rock Valley College softball team’s mission to honor a fallen former teammate.

Bayne is originally from the Chicago suburb of Palatine and earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Missouri in 2004. Bayne and his wife, Monica, have a five-year-old son, Julian, and a one-year-old daughter, Mia.

“Derek is a talented storyteller, who has shared some wonderful stories, both inspiring and heartbreaking, with our viewers,” 13 WREX Vice President & General Manager Ed Reams said in a news release. “He is a newsroom leader and a great mentor, and I know he will shine in his new role on the news desk.”

More news:Brittany Hardaway joins 13 WREX news team

While Bayne will devote much of his time anchoring the news, he’ll still be involved in the station’s high school football coverage this fall while 13 WREX conducts a search for a new sports director.

Bayne’s move from sports to news is not unprecedented in the Rockford television market.

WIFR-TV evening news anchor Mike Garrigan was a sports reporter/anchor at 13 WREX in the early 2000s. WIFR-TV morning news anchor Andy Gannon was a sports reporter/anchor at the station in the late 1980s and 90s.

Ken DeCoster covers business news and features. Contact him at 815-987-1391, kdecoster@rrstar.com or @DeCosterKen.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford TV sports anchor Derek Bayne shifts to news desk