PBS News Weekend, anchored by John Yang, will have its final broadcasts on Saturday, January 10, and Sunday, January 11, 2026.
“We want to note a change for us here at PBS News,” PBS News Hour co-anchor Geoff Bennett said on-air Friday.
“Due to federal budget cuts, we’ve had to make the difficult decision to rework our staffing and programming," co-anchor Amna Nawaz added. "And, this Sunday, our ‘PBS News Weekend’ team will sign off the air.”
The following weekend, on January 17th, two new 30-minute weekend programs will debut.
- PBS News Hour West shuts down
"Horizons from PBS News," which will focus on science, health, and technology and will be hosted by William Brangham, and "Compass Points from PBS News," which will focus on foreign affairs and be hosted by Nick Schifrin.
"As we lay out the next chapter of PBS News' multi-platform programming, we are delighted to launch two new weekend broadcasts, both of which will build on existing editorial strengths of our newsroom and allow us to dive deeper into topics our audiences care about deeply," said Just, who will serve as senior executive producer of these programs and is a WETA SVP. "As we have found with the success of Washington Week with The Atlantic, there is a growing and hungry audience for deep, nuanced conversations with knowledgeable guests that help shed light on critical issues and are a welcome break from some of the bite-sized, headline-grabbing news that proliferates so much these days."
Horizons will feature experts and professionals across science, health, technology, and the environment, and will dive into a single issue each week, such as the AI race, advances in medicine, and the latest developments in climate science. Horizons will be hosted by Peabody- and Emmy Award-winning journalist and PBS NewsHour correspondent William Brangham and executive produced by Talesha Reynolds, who also serves as senior producer of content and special projects for PBS NewsHour. The program will premiere Saturday, January 17, 2026.
Compass Points will take an all-encompassing look at a prominent international topic each week and will provide timely analysis with a panel of experts, including former government officials and journalists, on issues such as America's power and influence abroad, the shifting world order under the Trump Administration, and what global conflicts and rising tensions could mean for America's interests. Compass Points will be hosted by Peabody- and duPont-Columbia Award-winning journalist and PBS NewsHour foreign affairs and defense correspondent Nick Schifrin and will be executive produced by Stephanie Kotuby, who also serves as executive producer of Washington Week with The Atlantic and senior editorial producer for PBS NewsHour. The program will premiere Sunday, January 18, 2026.
