LA Anchor Shake Up
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FTVLive is hearing that a major anchor shake up is going down at CBS O&O KCBS/KCAL. While a number of Anchors are being affected, none are losing their jobs. It's more like a major Anchor shift.
FTVLive can FIRST tell you that news anchors Sharon Tay and Rick Garcia and meteorologist Evelyn Taft, who currently appear on KCAL 9’s weeknight 8 and 10 p.m. newscasts, will move to sister station CBS 2 and anchor that station’s weekday 4:30-7:00 a.m. and 11-11:30 a.m. newscasts, beginning Monday, November 18.
“Sharon, Rick and Evelyn are a proven winning combination,” says KCBS/KCAL GM Steve Mauldin said. “They bring a tremendous mix of experience, insight and personality to every newscast and they know what it takes to achieve success in morning news. We are confident in their ability to help us grow our audience during the morning news daypart in the same way they’ve given us a big lift during primetime.”
Since Tay, Garcia and Taft began working together in August 2010, KCAL 9 ranks first in viewers among newscasts in the highly competitive 10 p.m.hour and has been No. 1 during seven of the last nine major sweep periods. And since the beginning of the new television season on September 23, the weeknight edition of KCAL 9 NEWS at 10 P.M. continues to rank first among local newscasts in the time period with an average of 160,000 viewers – up 28 percent versus comparable dates last year.
Current KCBS 2 morning anchors Kent Shocknek and Suzie Suh will join meteorologist Rich Fields to anchor KCAL 9’s weeknight 8 and 10 p.m. newscasts, also beginning November 18.
Mauldin added: “Kent Shocknek is second to none when it comes to anchoring breaking news events. Suzie Suh has been a rising star for us and successfully handled every assignment we have given her. And Rich Fields is among the most respected and charismatic meteorologists in Southern California. We feel great about having such an accomplished, well-rounded and likable trio joining our 9 p.m. anchors Sylvia Lopez and Leyna Nguyen to give us a primetime anchor team that will continue to uphold KCAL’s tremendous primetime news legacy.”
KCBS 2 weeknight 5 and 11 p.m. news anchors Pat Harvey and Paul Magers will take on the additional responsibility of anchoring the station’s weeknight 6 p.m. newscasts, which are currently anchored by Garcia, beginning November 18. Harvey and Magers will join weathercaster Jackie Johnson and sports anchor Jim Hill during the 6 p.m. newscasts.
“The decision we made in April 2010 to bring Pat and Jackie over from KCAL to partner with Paul and Jim been great for us. Our late news ratings have increased by double digits and we’re excited to give Southern Californians even more opportunities to get their daily news, weather and sports from this outstanding team,” Mauldin said.
Also as of November 18, CBS 2 and KCAL 9 chief meteorologist Josh Rubenstein will appear on KCAL’s Noon, 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. newscasts. Amber Lee (mornings) and Kaj Goldberg (evenings) will provide weather reports for both stations’ weekend newscasts.
