Channel 5 Swaps Morning Anchors

Weekend anchor Jonathan Hawgood brings his bubbly personality to the weekday "News 5 Today" starting Monday. Hawgood switches chairs with Todd Dykes, who moves to weekends on Oct. 27.

But viewers will start to see changes tomorrow. Lisa Cooney begins a four-week personal leave Thursday to deal with a family illness. She explained to viewers today that she is taking her 11-year-old daughter Avery to the Dead Sea in Jordan for treatment of severe psoriasis, a chronic skin disease characterized by thick, scaly, itchy patches. "There is no cure, and we have gone through many treatments... We have tried everything," she says. So they're going to try climate therapy near the Dead Sea, with its high salt and mineral content. See the video today at http://www.wlwt.com

New morning reporter Kristina Cruise from WVIR-TV in Charlottesville, Va. -- who started work today at Channel 5 -- will co-anchor during Cooney’s absence. She has anchoring experience in Charlottesville.

Dykes, hired as a reporter in 2002, has co-anchored the weekday morning show since October 2003. He says he's "somewhat disappointed by the move because I've thoroughly enjoyed working with Lisa, Eric Green and Pete Scalia (and all the other folks connected with our morning news team, past and present). Despite the crazy hours, it's been a real privilege to work with so many professionals while doing a job I love." He will be a reporter three days a week, when not doing weekends with meteorologist Randi Rico.

The Dykes-Cooney-Green team had been together only since January, after Derek Beasley was promoted to replace chief meteorologist Jim O'Brien. Rico has worked with Hawgood since March.