Shawn Ley promoted to Defenders; Grant Hermes to co-anchor weekend mornings

Shawn Ley, Grant Hermes

WDIV-Local 4, the Graham Media Group owned NBC affiliate in Detroit, announced that veteran journalist Shawn Ley will be moving from the weekend morning anchor desk to the investigative unit alongside Karen Drew.

In his 30 years as a broadcast journalist, Ley’s career has taken him from war-torn eastern Europe and flying with the U. S. Air Force Thunderbirds to more than a decade of covering breaking news ​in Detroit. Ley worked in Dayton, Phoenix, and Cincinnati before returning for his second stint at WDIV-Local 4 in 2010. Ley is a two-time Michigan EMMY winner and was named 2017 and 2019 Best Reporter by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters.

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The Defenders is WDIV-Local 4’s award-winning investigative unit.

“Shawn is a reporter’s reporter. He has strong sources and a tenacious drive to uncover the truth on every story. He’ll be an incredible asset to the Defenders and we know he will work extremely well with Karen Drew, whose reputation for investigative journalism is exceptional,” said News Director Kim Voet.

To fill the position on the weekend mornings, Grant Hermes is named the anchor of the Saturday and Sunday Local 4 News Today newscasts. He will join co-anchor Priya Mann and meteorologist Andrew Humphrey and will continue to report for various other newscasts during the week.

Hermes joined WDIV-Local 4 in April after five years at KWTV in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma where he was morning anchor and reporter.

“When I met Grant, I knew he had the journalistic chops, curiosity and personality to do extremely well at Local 4 and in Detroit,” continued Voet. “Our weekend morning newscasts are ​a perfect fit, and I know viewers will love getting to know him better at the anchor desk."

Hermes made the move to Detroit during the height of the coronavirus pandemic and recorded his journey to the Motor City for Local 4 News. He is engaged to be married and is a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate.

Both new positions begin Monday, June 1.