Janelle Stelson


Janelle Stelson is an American former television news anchor who worked at WGAL. Before that, she worked at WHTM, WPLG, and WHP, and WITF.

Broadcast journalism career

After graduating from University of Puget Sound with a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics and government, she began her broadcast journalism career at WHTM in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania as a general assignment reporter, weather and climate anchor for three years. She then left for Miami, Florida, and joined WPLG in 1989.
Returning to Pennsylvania, she joined WHP in Harrisburg, anchoring the 6 pm and 11 pm newscasts. In addition, she also worked with WITF radio, hosting a statewide public tv broadcast, and anchored "Computer Chronicles" on PBS.
She then joined WGAL in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1997. She worked there as the co-anchor of the "News 8 at 4, 5:30, 10, and 11 pm" newscasts.
On September 14, 2023, Stelson announced near the end of "News 8 at 5:30" that she would be leaving WGAL to pursue other interests after nearly 40 years as a journalist, with 26 of those years at WGAL, and that September 15 would be her last newscast.

Political campaigns

In 2024, Stelson ran for Congress as a Democrat in Pennsylvania's 10th district against multi-term incumbent Republican Scott Perry but lost by about 6,000 votes. In July 2025, Stelson announced her candidacy for the 10th Congressional district seat in the 2026 election.