PORTLAND – ABC 8 WMTW management is making several anchor changes beginning this Friday, Sept. 5.

John Dougherty will anchor his final newscast for News 8 WMTW Friday at 6 p.m. That night, Doug Cook assumes anchor responsibilities for the 11 p.m. newscast.

And, on Monday, Sept. 8, News 8’s morning anchor team, Tory Ryden and Jeff Peterson, will anchor the 6 p.m. newscast in addition to the 6 a.m. hour.

Marnie Maclean will return to weekend anchoring Sept. 13. The station has begun a search for a noon anchor/reporter.

Katie Brace, a general assignment reporter with News 8, will anchor the noon on an interim basis effective Sept. 8.

Station Manager and News Director David Baer said, “John Dougherty is at a point in his life where he wants time to do other things.

“We’ve been talking about this for a number of months and felt now would be an opportune time to make our changes.

“We have a number of fine anchors and reporters in place ready to move up. I want to thank John for his tremendous contribution to the station. His experience and journalistic strengths have helped us build the product over the past four years.”

Peterson has been with the station since March of 2002. He returned to Portland following a stint as a morning news anchor in Denver, Colo. He had been a general assignment reporter with News 8 before launching the morning show in April of this year.

Ryden joined News 8 in March after anchoring for several years in Boston and Jacksonville, Fla. She and Peterson teamed up to anchor the morning newscast seen weekdays at 6 a.m.

“It’s somewhat unconventional to have the same team anchor both the morning and evening newscasts,” Baer said.

“But Tory and Jeff have exceeded our initial expectations. Increasing their exposure can only enhance the growth of our news product as we position News 8 for the future.”

Cook joined WMTW four years ago to report and co-anchor the 5:30 p.m. newscast with Elisa Boxer.

He’s been reporting full time since the station reprogrammed the 5 to 6 p.m. time slot with “Dr. Phil.” Baer said he’s pleased that Cook will return to the anchor chair.

“Doug is one of the most versatile journalists in Portland. This new shift will allow him to continue to report for both the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts. I’m delighted that we’ll be able to capitalize on both his reporting and anchoring strengths.”

Baer said, “The anchor changes come at an important time in the growth and development of News 8 WMTW product.”