Jennifer Copeland , Anchor

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On Oct. 17, 2024, Jennifer passed away after a brave battle with cancer. She was 46. 

https://www.abc57.com/news/star-michiana-anchor-jennifer-copeland-passes-away-at-46-10-18-24

Jennifer was a mainstay in Michiana television. For more than 20 years, she worked to build a reputation of professionalism, integrity & trust in her storytelling.

Jennifer anchored the news at WSBT 22 for more than a decade. Most recently, she anchored the early evening news at ABC57.

Jennifer was best known for her genuine, authentic and real approach to the people she met & the stories she told. Her passion? Finding the 'why.' Jennifer believes sharing 'why' people do what they do is the most valuable, relatable part of every story.

Our community was important to Jennifer -- through outreach and the stories she told. Jennifer was dedicated to mental health awareness & important topics that affect us all. Her reporting empowered local families and sparked change. Her work led the Salvation Army to adopt a new way of sorting donated clothing. The change went all the way from South Bend to Chicago to make it harder for child predators to find clothing with trustworthy, credible-looking logos that could be misleading and used to gain the trust of innocent children.

Jennifer spent most of her career in Michiana. She was the first anchor in South Bend to launch a 4 p.m. newscast. Over the years, she won awards for her reporting and storytelling. She was even voted Best Anchor in Michiana in the Leader Publication's Best of the Best Readers' Choice Contest.

Jennifer began her television career at WJW FOX8 News in Cleveland, Ohio where she worked on consumer and investigative stories. She then moved to South Bend for a reporting and anchoring job at WSBT 22. From there, she went to Champaign, Ill. to be the main anchor at WICD-TV. Her career took her to Charlotte, N.C. after that for an evening anchor and reporter job at WCNC-TV. ABC in Minneapolis, Minn. hired Jennifer as a primary anchor for KSTP-TV, but after a couple of years she moved back to Michiana to be near family. In 2012, Jennifer became the main anchor at WSBT 22, before ultimately finding her home at ABC57.

Jennifer graduated with a degree from Kent State University and was passionate about using her role to do good.

Articles by Jennifer Copeland