When I first “met” Brian Conybeare, he was providing my WSJM Radio audience with breathtaking first-hand experience from the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks on New York City. He had been the only member of his cable television news team at News12 Westchester in Westchester County, just north of NYC, who was in the Manhattan neighborhood when the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsed and told harrowing tales of the chaos that reigned in front of him. A few years later he joined us once again for our 9/11 annniversary coverage, and now he’s back home to bring his Emmy Award-winning journalism to the ABC57 News Team in South Bend.
As of this Thursday, February 1st, Brian will be co-anchoring the 5:00, 5:30, 6:00 and 11:00pm newscasts on ABC57 and the 10:00pm newscast on the CW25 with Colleen Bormann. It is a welcome homecoming for Brian who was born and raised in Benton Harbor and tells me he is thrilled to be back in Michiana covering stories that matter to local communities and families like his own.
His News12 Westchester stint was at the beginning of his broadcast career. Prior to joining ABC57, Brian worked as a general assignment reporter and fill-in anchor at CBS2 News in New York City. During his time there Brian did extensive reporting on the recent terror attacks in New York, the 2016 presidential campaign, consumer scams and took viewers on exclusive tours inside a troubled nuclear power plant and New York’s growing medical marijuana industry.
Prior to joining CBS2 News, Brian worked as a special advisor on the New NY Bridge Project to replace the Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River. During his role as spokesman on the $3.9 billion project, he hosted hundreds of meetings with residents, business groups and schools helping people understand, what was at the time, the nation’s largest infrastructure project.
Brian also served as main anchor and managing editor at News12 Westchester where his investigative reporting earned him three New York Emmy Awards, five Edward R. Murrow Regional Awards and a national award from the Society of Professional Journalists. He covered major stories including the 9/11 terror attacks, the Pope’s 2008 visit to New York City and did exclusive investigations into a parking ticket scam involving a national car rental chain and rigged promotional giveaways at the Yonkers Raceway Casino that led to three arrests.
Brian earned a Bachelors Degree in Communications from the University of Michigan and a Masters Degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from New York University.
He currently lives in St. Joseph with his wife Janna, their four children and two dogs. Brian loves spending time with family on the shores of Lake Michigan and tailgating at Michigan football games.
Brian is the son of renowned St. Joseph Attorney Bruce Conybeare and Nancy Conybeare. Nancy had visited Brian to celebrate the birth of one of his children the weekend before the 9/11 attacks and had actually had lunch at the restaurant at the top of the World Trade Center the Saturday before the attacks.
