DETROIT – On Monday, March 6, at 6 a.m., Sandra Ali, the former Local 4 News (WDIV-TV) anchor, appeared on CBS Detroit’s (WWJ-TV, channel 62) morning news show.

“It is great to be here with all of you,” she said. “We can’t wait to be a part of your morning routine.”

In late January, Ali announced on a Local 4 News broadcast she was anchoring that she was leaving WDIV for “a wonderful new opportunity.”

Ali is now anchoring the CBS News Detroit morning over-the-air broadcast from 5 to 7 a.m. weekdays (which will stream simultaneously on the station’s online site).

She is also the anchor of the 7-8 a.m. streaming newscast that debuted Monday and eventually the 8-9 a.m. newscast as more hours of live online content are added in the near future.

Ali, an award-winning anchor and reporter, spent 13 years at Local 4 News and led the weekend 6 and 11 p.m. broadcasts.

CBS Detroit launched its news team, dubbed CBS News Detroit, in January. The station has been mostly missing from the local news scene for more than 25 years, but is now working to compete with the Motor City market’s current big three news teams: Fox 2 News (WJBK-TV, Channel 2), Local 4 News (WDIV-TV, Channel 4) and 7 Action News (WXYZ-TV, Channel 7).

Ali instantly becomes the best-known member of the CBS News Detroit staff.

Her new role was kept quiet until Monday’s reveal. It was hinted at prior to Monday with promos on CBS Detroit that said, “The wait is almost over. A local favorite returns March 6 to CBS News Detroit.”

Ali was born in New York City, but spent her early childhood in Egypt. She’s a graduate of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Journalism and has a master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

Her previous jobs include stints at an Altoona, Pennsylvania, station, Detroit’s Fox 2 News and an NBC affiliate in Cincinnati. She won the 2002 Associated Press award for best hard news reporter and the 2003 Michigan Association of Broadcasters award for best breaking news reporter.