For the last five years, 5NEWS anchor Erika Thomas has delivered the news to Arkansas residents. But recently, the Emmy Award-winning anchor has announced her departure. Erika Thomas is leaving KFSM-TV for the next phase of her life. Now viewers are wondering whether she will also say goodbye to the news business since the anchor has worked in the broadcast industry for nearly 20 years. Read on to find out what Erika Thomas said about her exit.
Erika Thomas’ Education and Career
Since childhood, Erika Thomas has loved storytelling and connecting with others through the camera lens. She had been featured on school broadcasts since elementary school. While other kids were playing and hanging out, she went to broadcast camps in the summer.
Continuing her passion, Thomas graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism and economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2008. Before that, she got a real taste of the industry while working for WLFI-TV’s News 18 in Lafayette, Indiana, including Columbia, Missouri’s KMIZ-TV’s ABC17 News, KBIA 91.3 FM, and KOMU-TV 8 News.
After graduating, Thomas got her first job at KMEG in Sioux City, Iowa, a town she had never heard of before. In her five years at the station, she got promoted from weekend to morning to evening anchoring. The Edward R. Murrow Award-winning anchor also met her now-husband, Dan, there and eventually got married in 2013.
That same year, the newlyweds relocated to Youngstown, Ohio, where Thomas worked at WKBN-TV as an evening anchor and later had her first child.
After more than three years at WKBN 27 First News, Erika Thomas joined the 5NEWS team at KFSM-TV. The family first lived in the River Valley for two years, where they had their second child, and then moved to Northwest Arkansas in 2019.
Erika Thomas to Leave News Industry
Recently, the anchor shared some bittersweet news. Erika Thomas is leaving KFSM-TV to spend more time with her kids. She is saying goodbye to the TV news industry as her busy schedule doesn’t allow her to spend time with her loved ones.
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So after much thought and discussion, Thomas is stepping away from 5NEWS. Her last day on the air will be March 3, 2023.
The good news is that she plans to keep her Facebook page active. That way, Thomas can connect with her followers and share information about her new job.
