GMA’s favorite weekend presenter rarely makes an appearance on Thursday’s morning show for the emotional segment
GOOD Morning America has received a visit from a popular news anchor who only appears on the weekend morning show.
GMA personality Janai Norman appeared on the show Thursday to cover a heartbreaking segment centered around a disheartening tragedy.
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The morning show shared a clip from tonight’s episode on the GMA Twitter account.
The featured snippet showed 32-year-old Janai breaking the news of federal prosecutors’ decision in the Shanquella Robinson murder case — Shanquella was killed on a trip to Mexico last year.
Janai admitted that prosecutors’ decision not to pursue criminal charges in the Shanquella case was “bad news” for her family.
As well as the “many on social media urging an initial investigation into what was happening.”
During the segment, Janai revealed an explanatory statement from the US Department of Justice regarding her ruling.
“Based on the results of the autopsy and after careful deliberation and review of the examination material…” Janai read verbatim.
“The available evidence does not support any federal charges.”
After Janai wrapped up her coverage and made her closing remarks, she opened up the floor for her weekday daily co-hosts: Michael Strahan, 51, Robin Roberts, 62, and George Stephanopoulos, 62.
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OUTSIDE THE NORM
Janai rarely appears on GMA during the weekdays.
Last year, Janai was tapped as a weekend host on the talk show.
Janai’s new role was announced on July 5, 2022 by the ABC News network she began on July 9, 2022.
She covered for the weekend program before taking on the more prominent role of co-hosting the Saturday and Sunday programs.
When she debuted on the show, she sat alongside fellow presenters Whit Johnson, 40, and Eva Pilgrim, 40, replacing longtime presenter Dan Harris, 51, who stepped down last year after 21 years.
Her co-hosts greeted her warmly as the show began, and Johnson joked, “It’s the TV equivalent of putting on a ring.”
THE BEGINNING
Janai’s love of journalism began at a young age, reports New York Amsterdam News.
She began taking journalism classes in high school and also became the editor-in-chief of her school newspaper during her junior and senior years, the outlet reports.
After high school, Janai, 32, attended the University of Missouri.
During her undergraduate studies, she did an internship at NewsOne at ABC in New York City.
Eventually, Janai worked in both Oklahoma and Florida before ending up back at ABC in New York.
Before joining GMA, Janai worked as a multi-platform reporter for ABC.
In 2019, Janai joined GMA for the second hour on Saturdays.
In May 2022, she appeared on the GMA and Hulu special Breaking the Mental Health Stigma for Black Women.
Her work on GMA over the last few years has focused primarily on pop culture and celebrity news.
On her Instagram, where she has over 50,000 followers, Janai is often spotted with some of the most famous faces in entertainment.
On June 10, 2022, Janai shared a series of photos with famous singer Ciara on her Instagram.
She captioned the post, “Not dropping an album…but good things are loading.”
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