Scott Thuman anchors ABC7’s 5 p.m., 6 p.m., and 11 p.m. newscasts. In an interview with Northern Virginia Magazine, the news pro talked about his career, his NoVA roots, and where he loves to go in Great Falls.
In 2020, you appeared in Northern Virginia Magazine as a “most eligible bachelor” and talked about what you were looking for in a partner. You recently got married — did Erin check off everything on your list?
She checked the most important boxes for sure, which was just finding someone who’s a good human being, caring, who believes family matters, who has a sense of adventure and a really strong humor card that can be pulled at any time. And she’s a local, she grew up in Great Falls.
And you’re a NoVA native, too?
I was born in Fairfax. My father was an FBI agent here in Washington, DC, when I was born. And then he got transferred to Florida when I was really young. So I grew up in Florida, then came back here in 2005 to be a reporter at Channel 7, eventually became the senior political reporter, then we were bought out by another company. We used to be Allbritton, we were bought by Sinclair, I became the chief political correspondent for them for almost a decade up on the Hill. And then this January, everything kind of took a dramatic turn, and I became the main anchor back at Channel 7, kind of went back to where it all began.
How do you like being an anchor versus being a correspondent?
I’m not the kind of anchor who just sits behind the desk, I would get way too antsy for that. I’ve always believed that a main anchor should also be a managing editor and care tremendously about the story content and making sure that we’re giving people a reason to stay up at night, because our greatest competition at 11 o’clock is sleep. We have to give people some sort of motivation to keep those eyes open, and I think we’re doing it. We’re making it less doom and gloom, we’re giving people reasons to also feel good about the day.
You recently moved to Great Falls from Shirlington. Do you have new favorite spots out there?
I love going over to The Old Brogue. You feel like there’s a true slice of community and neighborhood feel where people recognize each other and know each other. But it’s kind of an irony that I would end up living in Great Falls because I’ve used Great Falls Park so many times to get in shape for a really big hike or climb. I just did Everest Base Camp last year, so I was in Nepal. And I was going out to Great Falls Park every week with an extra heavy backpack just to train for Nepal, for the Himalayas. … And now I’m living there. I’m still learning it and trying to branch out.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Feature image of Scott Thuman courtesy ABC7
This story originally ran in our September issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
