Brittany Pieper is the new evening co-anchor at KOMU, the NBC affiliate in Columbia, Mo.

Beginning March 4, Pieper will co-anchor with Angie Bailey for the 5 p.m. newscast and with Jim Riek for the 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts. She and Riek will also anchor the 9 p.m. newscast on KOMU’s CW-affiliated digital subchannel.

Pieper comes from Shreveport, La., where she is an anchor and reporter covering education at KSLA. She is a graduate of the University of Missouri and began her career as a student reporter and anchor at KOMU.

“We knew Brittany to be a terrific journalist when she worked with us before. So when the opportunity came to bring her back to work with us again, I jumped at the chance,” news director Stacey Woelfel said in a statement. “She has all the skills Mid-Missouri wants in a news anchor –intelligence, a passion for news and the ability to communicate in a way people will love.”

Weathercasters Rosie Newberry and Dave Schmidt are getting new jobs at KOMU, the NBC affiliate in Columbia, Mo.

Schmidt, who currently handles weather reports at noon and 5 p.m., will slide to the evening newscasts, replacing Michelle Bogowith, who recently left KOMU for WDAF in Kansas City. News director Stacey Woelfel tells TVSpy Schmidt will appear at 6, 9 and 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and at noon, 5 and 6 p.m. on Friday.

Rosie Newberry has joined the station full-time, replacing Schmidt as the noon and 5 p.m. weathercaster Monday through Thursday. Newberry will also appear on Sundays at 5, 9 and 10 p.m.  [h/t TVNewsCheck]

As local stations nationwide struggled with how to replace “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in their programming lineup, a new idea emerged at KOMU, the NBC-affiliate in Columbia, MO: a social-media driven newscast that would connect viewers from all over the world through “hangouts,” 10-person video chats on Google+.

“There is something magical about bringing people in from around the world in a singular space to discuss the day’s news,” KOMU’s Sarah Hill, who has anchored the 4 p.m. newscast since its debut on September 12, told TVSpy. “Globally, we are reducing the space between us.”

Hill pointed to a recent segment about Kenza Drider, who is running for president of France and targeting the country’s ban on Islamic face veils, as an example of the benefits from the hangout-style newscasts (watch video of the hangout segment inside). Read more