Meet the WRDE Team | WRDE

Bob Backman
President, General Manager

Bob was born and raised in Philadelphia. At a very young age, he became transfixed with local TV and radio broadcasting.

His first job, at the age of 12, was answering the request line phone for the DJs at the local Top 40 Radio station.

Bob saw firsthand how broadcasting could be an important part of people's lives and a force for good. TV and radio in those days was truly local, locally owned... locally programmed. And, that's the part of broadcasting Bob fell in love with.

When he got his chance after serving all these years in the broadcasting business to finally get his own local NBC TV station, Bob declared as his mission: "local, local, local" and assembled a wonderful family of broadcasters to carry out and enhance that goal.

Bob loves the outdoors and is a member of a local hiking club. Bob also is a huge fan of Doo Wop Music and hosts a nationally syndicated Doo Wop radio show on SiriusXM as well as hosting Oldies concerts all over.

For Bob, WRDE, NBC Coast TV is truly a dream come true. A dream he hopes you will share with him.

Bob's direct phone line is 302-703-6104 and he would love to hear from you on how to better serve our local community.

Anne Imanuel
Evening News Anchor

Anne Imanuel anchors WRDE News weeknights at 6 and 11 alongside Mark Edwards.

She's from Ft. Myers, Florida and has worked at TV stations all across the Sunshine State. Most recently she was an anchor in Tampa. She's also anchored in Tallahassee, Gainesville, and worked as a reporter in Ft. Myers.

Her work has been recognized by several first place awards from the Associated Press and the Society of Professional Journalists.
Anne graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Florida and was inducted into the UF Hall of Fame.

Anne is committed to volunteering and has dedicated her time to a number of organizations including the American Cancer Society and animal rescue groups.

She has her very own rescue best friend! He's a Pomeranian-poodle mix who she tries spending as much time with as possible. Anne also enjoys hitting the beach, going to the gym (ok, she doesn't love the gym but she goes anyway!), and traveling.

Anne and is recently married and should never have trouble remembering her anniversary - 12/13/14!

Anne Imanuel

Mark Edwards
Evening News Anchor

Mark Edwards grew up in Arkansas. He joined the WRDE news team in October of 2014. Mark grew up very active in all sports and chose to play basketball at Henderson State University.

After college Mark planned to go to medical school, but took a job as a radio DJ for a popular radio station.

It wasn't long after, he was hooked on the entertainment industry. He spent time acting in Los Angeles before moving back to the south to pursue radio in Memphis, TN. He would eventually find his way back to Arkansas where he covered and ventured into the world of television.

During his career, he's covered the SEC for more than ten years and interviewed countless professional athletes. He is a people person and says he has never met a stranger. His hobbies include sports and reading!

Nick Franck
Sports Anchor

Nick Franck grew up in a small town in North Dakota. He joined the WRDE sports team in July of 2016. From a young age, he was always passionate about sports.

Nick graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism. During his time at ASU, he was a sports anchor for the college TV program and the sports director for the college radio station. He earned a national Hearst Broadcast Award for his radio work.

After college, he was hired as the weekend sports anchor at a TV station in Duluth, Minnesota. Nick spent two years covering some of the best prep hockey in the country as well as Vikings' training camp and the 2014 MLB All Star Game.

When he is not busy reporting on sports, Nick loves golfing, running, biking and grilling! Despite the lifelong heartache it has caused him, he fully supports the Vikings, Twins, Timberwolves and Wild.

Mallory Metzner
Multimedia Journalist/Producer

Mallory Metzner was born and raised in Lewes, Delaware, where she grew up and still lives just 5 minutes from the beach. Mallory is deeply rooted in Sussex County for she attended Sussex Technical High School. There she studied Media Broadcasting, but she had been an aspiring journalist long before that. She first worked for WRDE as an intern during the summer before her senior year at the University of Delaware. Shortly after graduating a semester early, Mallory began reporting and producing for the 6pm and 11pm weekend broadcasts. By May 2018, Mallory was part of the full-time news team.

Always an overachiever, Mallory double majored in Media Communications and Fashion Merchandising, and she triple minored in Journalism, Spanish and Business Administration. During college, Mallory was both the producer of the Student TV Network's "49 News" and the production director of the school fashion magazine. During her three and a half years of college, she held 6 internships, including a position as a Junior Reporter for Fox 29 in Philadelphia. Mallory was making pieces for Good Day Weekend and fronting them live alongside the morning anchor. If that wasn't enough, Mallory also competed on the National Champion Intercollegiate Figure Skating Team at UD and she taught lessons a few days a week. In fact, she's been figure skating since she was 6 years old.

In her free time, Mallory likes to get to the gym or the ice rink as much as she can. Naturally, you can also find her taking advantage of as many beach days as she can.



mallorymetzner@wrde.com    |    Mallory Metzner