Rochester station set to debut father-daughter anchor team at 4 p.m.

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Rochester, New York, viewers will soon be able to see a father-and-daughter anchor team on local newscasts.

Natalie Kucko, who is the daughter of WROC anchor John Kucko, announced that she will start co-anchoring the 4 p.m. news on the station with her father starting June 27, 2022.

Natalie had been working at rival WHAM as a reporter, but announced that June 20, 2022, would be her last day at the station.

She confirmed that she has been hired as reporter and anchor at WROC and is slated to co-anchor the hour-long “News 8 at 4” alongside her father.

John himself left WHAM, then known as WOKR, in 1990 for WROC to accept a job as sports director and anchor. He would eventually make the switch over news about six years ago.

John noted that Natalie grew up watching him on TV and spent many hours at the station over the years.

“The only time we’ll ever cross paths is when we’re anchoring in the studio from 4-5pm each day—I’ll continue to spend my waking hours shooting POSITIVE content for our viewers, giving them a reprieve from the constant barrage of the realities of the world,” he wrote on Facebook.

“I’m sure a father/daughter anchor tandem has occurred a few times—not too many,” he continued.

The setup is indeed fairly rare, with Pittsburgh’s Patti and Bill Burns widely credited as the first such instance when they were both assigned the noon news in 1976 on KDKA.

At WXYZ in Detroit, Diana Lewis and her daughter, Glenda Lewis, were co-anchors for a time, claiming the title of first mother-and-daughter anchor team. Diana has since retired, but Glenda remains with the station.

Art Rascon and Jacob Rascon, who are father and son, also co-anchored for a single day on KTRK in Houston in January 2022 on the day Art retired and Jacob started at the station.

There have also been instances of married couples anchoring together over the years, as well as examples of other familial connections tying talent together.

WROC previously held the call signs WHAM but the stations are now distinct.