Leland Pinder

Leland co-anchors WIS Sunrise alongside Mary King weekdays from 4:30-7 a.m. Leland joined the team at WIS in October 2016. He is a native of Charlotte, NC and a graduate of the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

As a high schooler Leland originally thought he wanted to be a dentist and also considered a career as a teacher but after an internship at FOX Charlotte, now WCCB, he knew journalism was the career for him. In college Leland became very involved with the student produced university news and excelled in his broadcasting classes. He was also a representative in student government and a proud member of the UNCW’s male a cappella group, The High Seas.

Before moving to South Carolina’s capital city Leland worked as a weekend evening anchor and reporter at WCTI in Eastern North Carolina. While in Eastern North Carolina Leland covered many important military stories with two Marine Corps bases in the region. He also covered environmental issues important to North Carolina’s coast and agriculture and many stories on higher education at East Carolina University among others.

Prior to that Leland spent nearly four years with Time Warner Cable News in North Carolina, a statewide 24-hour cable news network. Leland started as an intern with the company, becoming an assignment editor in Charlotte then being promoted to reporter out of the network’s Wilmington newsroom.

There are countless people out there and countless stories to tell and that’s why Leland enjoys being a journalist. You learn something new every day, there is rarely a dull moment, and you get to meet so many different people with their own unique backgrounds, experiences, and stories. Leland is excited to learn more about the issues and stories important to Columbians and South Carolinians and to meet the people who make the communities of the Midlands tick.