Review-Journal debuts new anchors for ‘7@7’ news program
Three new faces have joined “7@7,” the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s flagship multiplatform video news program, transforming the twice-daily show starting today.
Cynthia Puga will anchor the 7 a.m. show and Arlette Yousif will lead the 7 p.m. program.
Multimedia journalist Aniea Collins, meanwhile, will support editing, filming, creating short video packages and producing content for the Review-Journal’s social media accounts.
“We’re very excited about the team, what we’ve assembled,” said Jim Prather, the Review-Journal’s vice president of digital strategy. “They bring energy. They’ve covered news before in previous markets.”
The award-winning video news program summarizes the day’s news in seven-minute segments that stream at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. each weekday. Its Spanish companion, “7@7 en Espanol,” broadcasts once a day, at 7 a.m., Monday through Friday.
“We’re excited that the audience is embracing the concept of a shorter newscast, and we’re exploring a variety of different approaches to expand that same kind of format moving forward in different content categories,” Prather said.
As examples, he cited Review-Journal columnist John Katsilometes’ video packages that were produced around the Super Bowl.
Puga graduated from California State University, Northridge, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism. She’s worked in TV news in Los Angeles, and in the Tri-Cities in Washington state.
Puga is fluent in Spanish and will assist “7@7 en Espanol,” Prather said.
Both Yousif and Collins are UNLV graduates with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and media studies.
The Review-Journal hired Yousif in November as a digital content producer before she was tapped for the anchor position. A writer at heart, she has anchored, reported, produced and edited stories in Las Vegas, California and Arizona.
Collins was born in Las Vegas and grew up in the neighborhood that surrounds the newspaper’s campus and “has always been a fan of the R-J,” Prather said.
Prather praised Carrie Roper, the Review-Journal’s director of digital broadcast, for recruiting the new hires.
“It’s really under great leadership by Carrie Roper recruiting dynamic talent like this,” he said. “Carrie’s been exceptional at building a team that can help move us to a next level at ‘7@7.’ ”
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.
