TV Talk: Peggy Finnegan returns to WPXI-TV temporarily
In November when she announced her retirement, WPXI-TV anchor Peggy Finnegan said she’d potentially return to the air at Channel 11 for special coverage. This week she’ll be back on TV as part of the station’s coverage of NBC’s broadcast of the Tokyo Olympics.
Tuesday night Finnegan posted a photo to her Instagram account showing her and other WPXI personalities, including recently hired Susan Koeppen, during a promo shoot on the Roberto Clemente Bridge.
“I am excited to bring you all the highlights, pageantry and drama from Tokyo starting tomorrow on Channel 11 News at 5 and 6 p.m.,” Finnegan wrote. “And so happy to be reunited with my great colleagues. Honestly, I love my work family.”
On Wednesday morning, Finnegan said she shot the promo with the Channel 11 News team on Tuesday and that her stint anchoring will run three weeks until the end of the Olympics. In addition to 5 and 6 p.m., she said she’ll also anchor at 11 p.m. on “big ratings nights,” like after the gymnastics competition.
“To me this was a wonderful sign that my managers (at Channel 11) meant what they said when they said, ‘We’d love to have you back for special coverage,’” Finnegan said. “Sometimes that’s lip service, this proves it wasn’t. I’m thrilled.”
Finnegan said she’s been enjoying retirement, spending much of it at a home her family owns on Cape Cod, near Boston where all of her children reside.
“I’ve done so much that I wouldn’t normally be able to do, visit my parents, see more of my children, just have more leisure time with my husband but I’ve missed my colleagues and missed the business so I’m really glad to have another opportunity to spend some time at Channel 11,” Finnegan said.
Already Finnegan has received a warm welcome back from viewers when walking back from Tuesday’s promo shoot.
“A couple of older ladies in a van leaned out and said, ‘How’s retirement going? We’re glad to have you back,’” Finnegan said. “It was really cute and just so Pittsburgh.”
You can reach TV writer Rob Owen at rowen@triblive.com or 412-380-8559. Follow @RobOwenTV on Threads, X, Bluesky and Facebook. Ask TV questions by email or phone. Please include your first name and location.
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