Tammy Rose is stepping away from daily helicopter reporting for ABC13 KTRK Houston after more than 30 years in television news.
Rose announced that her final day covering Houston from the air will be October 2, 2026. However, she is making it clear that she is not retiring from journalism.
In a social media post, Rose said her workload has doubled over the past year as viewers have increasingly sent her tips and asked her to investigate stories important to them. That has led her to rethink how she wants to tell stories. Rose says she wants the freedom to go beyond the traditional 30-second television news story and spend more time investigating the stories that matter to her audience.
“To make that possible, I have made the difficult decision to retire from daily helicopter reporting,” Rose wrote.
She will continue flying part-time on assignments around the country through the company she works with, Helicopters Incorporated, meaning aerial reporting will still be part of her career.
Rose also plans to continue her work through Tammy Rose Reports, where she focuses on true crime, aviation and investigative stories. She says she will travel to find stories, reporting both from the air and on the ground.
She is also working on her fourth book. Rose previously wrote When Two Worlds Collide During WWII and says she wants to give her next stories the time they deserve.
Rose has been the helicopter reporter for ABC13 since 2009, providing live breaking news and traffic reports from the sky over Houston.
Her aerial reporting career goes back even further. Before coming to Houston, she worked as a ground and helicopter reporter at KPNX-TV 12 in Phoenix from 2005 to 2009. She previously covered breaking news from the air for WISN-TV 12 in Milwaukee, including tornadoes, severe weather, major traffic incidents, fires, and other developing stories.
Her television career also includes stops at WMTV NBC 15 in Madison, Wisconsin, KXXV 25 in Waco, and KGBT 4 in the Rio Grande Valley, where she worked as a weather anchor and reporter.
Rose began her television career after studying broadcast journalism at Northern Arizona University.
“I hope you’ll turn the page with me and join me for this next chapter,” Rose wrote.
I went to KPRC's studios last week to preview an episode ahead of the ENOUGH debut (not the episode above; the one I saw was on the new Texas school voucher program) and interview anchor Stephania Jimenez, KPRC 2 Vice President and General Manager Sean McLaughlin, and News Director Ana Lastra to try to answer every question I have received over the last few months.
Back in early January 2026, I first heard that KPRC 2 Houston was doing something different with its 10pm newscast, and to tell you how big the news was, I heard it from staffers at two other TV stations within an hour of each other.
Over the last few months, I've received inquiries from viewers, other TV stations, advertisers, and even Channel 2's own employees.
Now the 10pm transformation, as we now know it, "ENOUGH," debuts Sunday, September 13, 2026. KPRC tells me the five-night-a-week 10pm show will air Sunday through Thursday while NBC airs Sunday Night Football, then will likely move to Monday through Friday after that.
KPRC 2 invited mikemcguff.com to its studios to see an early episode of ENOUGH. More on my thoughts below.
First, let me address the many questions I have received. ENOUGH, which KPRC calls a digital-first investigative accountability journalism series, obviously won't be your traditional newscast, as you may have gathered from the station's promotional content. Think of it like a Houston version of 60 Minutes to a degree.
In fact, the 30-minute show will be many things. The station tells me one night the ENOUGH team will tackle a big subject like school vouchers, the next night it might be a series of topics, and the following day it could feature a roundtable discussion.
There will not be a news and weather segment. At least not during ENOUGH. However, what news director Ana Lastra described to me as a 10:30 cut-in will have some quick news headlines and a weather update right before "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."
And in case you didn't know, last Thursday, the Graham Media Group station debuted a 9pm streaming newscast on KPRC2+ that will now serve as the traditional late-night news.
But what about major breaking news? Will ENOUGH be sidelined for something big going on at the moment? That is a question the team tells me they are still grappling with. Something very urgent would have to be going on to interrupt the show with breaking news. I asked whether a hurricane or refinery fire would be the demarcation for breaking news, and they said yes. Essentially, they said something current and public safety-related would certainly rise to the occasion for a switch to traditional news programming.
It's a big swing for a newscast that, as KPRC 2 Vice President and General Manager Sean McLaughlin noted on LinkedIn, finished No. 1 at 10 in May.
I sat down with McLaughlin, News Director Ana Lastra, and ENOUGH anchor Stephania Jimenez to find out what this project actually is and why they feel they must be experimental right now.
"For a long time you'd go into a community, turn on the news at 10, and there'd be five or six stations that all made the exact same decisions all day. It was almost mystifying — how did everybody in different parts of town arrive at the same exact decision?" he asked. "I think we're starting to see divergence. I think we're starting to see different philosophies around how we're going to operate as local media operations, how we're going to fund it and what's important. Some people are afraid of that. I'm really excited by it."
McLaughlin, who has been in the Houston GM chair a little over a year, said the decision didn't start with a ratings book.
"The short answer is it's not really a ratings play," he told me. "One of the first questions we spent time on is, what is it we do as a local TV station in 2026, 2027? We've operated a certain way for so long, but our industry has a lot of challenges. The audience is aging."
He argues the disconnect with younger viewers isn't about apathy.
"It's not because they don't care what's happening in their community. It's not because they're not interested in journalism. It's just we haven't done as good a job as we could appealing to them," McLaughlin said. "We still appeal to their parents and grandparents."
Having spent the last decade-plus in roles where, by his own description, he's "been exposed to more audience research than just about anybody in the industry," McLaughlin said the same themes kept surfacing.
"People are just really frustrated with a lot of things that are happening. They don't feel like they're getting answers. They feel like a lot of societal institutions are letting them down, including, to some degree, the local journalism institutions," he said. "So this was an opportunity to just completely reset that."
He also pushed back on the idea that local news can survive as a nightly crime rundown.
"Local news can't exist going forward, in my opinion, as just a collection of all the bad things that happen in a community in a given day," McLaughlin said. "If you want to do that in a community like Houston, you can fill hour after hour with just every little crime that happened. But people do want more. People are overrun with that."
McLaughlin actually told me the quiet part out loud. Shrinking television news audiences and a majority of only older viewers is something the TV world often talks about amongst themselves. McLaughlin is addressing this head-on, telling me the industry's financial challenges are real, but so is the opportunity to figure out its future: "through differentiated products and the kinds of content that only we're doing, I believe there's a sustainable path there going forward."
He added, "One of the mistakes a lot of times that gets made around innovation projects is it's done from a position of weakness. I feel strongly the best ideas and innovations can come from a position of strength."
The dream job
Anchor Stephania Jimenez, who came to KPRC 2 from KSAT12 in San Antonio in January, doesn't hide how she feels about the assignment.
"This is really my dream job," she said, tracing it back to a Brooklyn childhood where she didn't learn English until she started school and watched the news with her grandmother. "There was just something about asking questions that I wasn't really allowed to do when I was little. That just really piqued my interest."
She says she's never built something from the ground up like this.
"You can't really describe this as investigative journalism. There is a tinge of that, but there's more to it," Jimenez said. "When people watch this, I really want this to feel like — and I think they will walk away feeling like — this is a conversation that is happening between us and the audience, because the audience is a big part of the show."
About that viral flood moment
I asked Jimenez whether her widely shared on-air demand for answers during the July 2025 Hill Country flooding coverage planted a seed for a show like this.
"I kind of hated that, because it made the story about me and it wasn't about me," she told me. "I have been to Kerrville where these unfortunate floods happened. I knew people who passed away. So at that moment, I'm a journalist, I'm a reporter, but I also want answers for a lot of these people."
She said the reaction reflected something she thinks the industry gets wrong about itself.
"Sometimes people think that journalists are in one category, and then there's kind of everybody else, right? The public. And that's not true, especially when it comes to local news. We're one of you. We live in these communities," Jimenez said. "I just hope that people know that all of it comes from the heart."
What the show actually looks like
News Director Ana Lastra tells me not to expect a rigid format.
"There's going to be days that we'll have a whole show that's just built around one topic. There's going to be days where it might be other things. We might have roundtable discussions, one-on-one conversations, holding people accountable," Lastra said. "It's really going to be the content and the stories that dictate what the format is going to be for the show."
The audience, she said, sets the agenda, pointing to data centers, electricity resiliency and storm recovery as issues already driving coverage.
And it starts on digital, not at 10 p.m.
"When people wake up in the mornings, they're not looking at their phones saying, KPRC is going to publish all these stories right now," Lastra said. "So really, it's about how do we jump in on the conversation? How do we talk to our audience? How do we communicate with them on all these different platforms in different ways? Because not every platform is going to be the same way."
That's already happening. Lastra said reporters have been posting pieces of the first stories to Instagram before the elements are finished. "He's showing you the process, letting people in on the back end of it before all the story's elements are done, because that's just kind of how people expect information to come in now."
For Lastra, who came to KPRC 2 as an investigator, running this is personal.
"This is truly an investigative reporter, investigative journalist dream. Whether you're on camera, behind the scenes, the amount of passion that's going into it," she said. "I wish that ten years ago I could have been a part of this project from the ground. I would have killed to be a part of the project as a reporter back in the day."
So where did the daily news, weather, and sports go?
This is the question I suspect most viewers will have, and KPRC 2 has an answer: a new 9 p.m. stream on KPRC 2+.
"What you get on 10 right now is what you'll get on the 9, plus more, most likely, as we develop it out," Lastra said. "You'll get your sports, your news headlines, what to prepare for weather, all of those things."
Sports moves to that streaming half-hour or hour, which Lastra points out actually gives the sports team more room to work. And ENOUGH won't leave broadcast viewers empty-handed — she says the end of the 10 p.m. show will include a cut-in-style block of top headlines and weather.
Money on the screen
After watching the promo and the first episode of ENOUGH, it's obvious there's a budget here. Crews are traveling around Texas and to another state, at least in what I saw.
"We're going one way while a lot of the business is going the other. I recognize that," McLaughlin said. "Good journalism, good storytelling and good reporting aren't cheap. There are cheaper ways to do this. But I believe in quality local reporting. I believe in investigative journalism, and I believe there needs to be more of it, not less of it."
KPRC tells me they have around 20 or more staffers dedicated to ENOUGH, with anchor Jimenez plus reporters Amy Davis, Joel Eisenbaum, Rilwan Balogun, and newly hired Kelly Wiley as the on-air talents.
After directing an award-winning documentary film, I don't want to review someone else's work anymore. After what I personally went through to get "Runaway Radio" made, I have much more empathy for people putting themselves out there.
However, KPRC did bring me in to watch the first episode, so here are my thoughts.
ENOUGH certainly does not look like a normal newscast. It has a striking production design. The footage looked cinematic. I am told they are shooting with cinema cameras and color-grading the video in post-production.
The episode I saw featured a school voucher report by Balogun. He traveled to Austin and then Phoenix. Jimenez then interviewed KPRC's GMG sister station WKMG Orlando anchor Lisa Bell about how the Florida school vouchers have been working.
Lastra told me they could work with their own company journalists for stories, plus those from independent media, in the future.
School vouchers. Texas Education Freedom Accounts, with a trip to Arizona to see how a longer-running voucher program has played out.
High-speed rail. Houston to Dallas by train — where the project stands and what's blocking it.
Growth and who pays for it. Data center expansion and land subsidence across the region.
Public safety technology, Houston's new administrative fee tied to garbage pickup, historic property protections and CenterPoint accountability.
The station says it will keep circling back on stories rather than moving on, framing it this way: getting an answer isn't the same as getting a solution.
Jimenez, for her part, wants Houston talking back.
"Share episodes, watch them. If there was something that you liked or that you didn't like, let us know," Jimenez tells mikemcguff.com readers. "If you have any suggestions or something that you would like to see on the show, I want you to tell us about that as well, because Houston, this show is for you."
Mike Warren is retiring from FOX 7 Austin KTBC in September 2026 after 22 years at the station.
During his on-air KTBC sign-off, Warren reflected on the stories and people he encountered throughout his career.
"I've been in this business for 37 years. Twenty-two here at FOX 7," Warren said.
Rather than pointing to one particular story as his favorite, Warren said his goal was always to connect viewers with the people behind the headlines.
"Always trying to communicate the feelings and emotions of the people in this story to people who are watching the news. That was always the goal," he said.
His colleagues described Warren as a steady presence in the newsroom, as well as a mentor, friend and "straight shooter." They also praised him for raising the bar for the station's news team.
Warren said he is looking forward to retirement, although he isn't quite sure what comes next.
"I don't know yet," Warren said. "We're going traveling. Initially, my wife and I with one of our children. And then we're going to come back here and I'm going to take it as it comes. I can't wait."
Warren also thanked his colleagues and viewers for their support over the years.
"I thank you all for coming. And I thank all the viewers for trusting us, for watching me, watching FOX 7. It has been a great journey, so I appreciate it."
Warren joined FOX 7 in 2004, taking a seat at the evening anchor desk following longtime Austin news icon Dick Ellis. During his more than two decades at the station, Warren became a familiar and trusted face for Central Texas viewers, covering major news events and interviewing newsmakers from both sides of the political aisle.
His broadcasting career began in college radio at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, where he earned a bachelor's degree in English Literature. After college, however, Warren took a detour from broadcasting, spending a year in Europe before working in financial sales in San Francisco.
He eventually returned to television news as a reporter at KRNV in Reno, Nevada, then moved to a reporting role at KMST in Monterey, California. His first anchor job came at KTUL in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he anchored mornings. He then moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where he reported and anchored at KTVK before moving to Austin.
When Warren arrived in Central Texas in 2004, Austin was a much smaller city than it is today. Over the next 22 years, he was there as the city and surrounding communities experienced tremendous growth.
Beyond the anchor desk, one of Warren's most significant contributions at FOX 7 was his commitment to the military and veteran communities.
Coming from a family with a long military tradition, Warren made supporting U.S. service members and veterans a major part of his work. He spearheaded the FOX 7 Care Force, a station initiative that highlighted local service members and helped veterans make the transition back to civilian life.
That dedication was recognized in 2013 when Warren received the Media Award from the Texas Veterans Commission for his ongoing efforts on behalf of Texas veterans.
"It's been a real pleasure, especially to do stories focused on veterans," Warren said. "We've always tried to give voice to that community, and I was glad to be a part of that."
Here is what I have learned. If I like a Houston HD radio station, its days are numbered.
The latest casualty is Oldies 107.5 HD2 KGLK, voiced and programmed locally by Eagle DJ Scott Sparks. The station that featured 1970s-era AM gold hits, which I guess could be classified as somewhat Yacht Rock, is no more as of this week.
Instead, it's been replaced by an FM station I recently wrote about debuting - The X106.1 K291CE-FM. Remember, the one that replaced Puro Tejano 106.1 to compete with the void left by 95.7 The Spot KKHH's format flip to 95.7 The Fan KIKK sports talk? Got all of that?
Now you might ask, why is a station that can be picked up on analog radio also airing on a digital subband? (called DAB in the UK, I just learned)
Well, notice the funny call letters of K291CE-FM associated with the 106.1 frequency? That is a low-power station, so it can only go so far. So I guess the thought of going on 107.5 HD2 increases the range and therefore listeners and hopefully advertisers. It should help, but 107.5 HD2 has moments where I can't get it, even with a good antenna.
And then there is the age-old question concerning how many Houston radio listeners can even pick up digital HD radio?
Now, let's look at the Houston HD digital graveyard of stations that I have loved that are no longer with us:
Texas saw two media layoffs this week: one at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and another at Sinclair Broadcast Group's duopoly of News 4 San Antonio WOAI and FOX 29 San Antonio KABB.
According to the News Guild, more than 90 unionized journalists and media workers across 17 publications were laid off Thursday from McClatchy newspapers (owner of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram) around the United States, including at The Miami Herald, The Sacramento Bee and The Kansas City Star.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram opinion editor Ryan J. Rusak, reporter Maven Navarro and Service Journalism Editor Jake Harris were among those affected.
"I’m sorry to say that my position at the Star-Telegram was among those eliminated this week by McClatchy. The outcome was not unexpected, but the specific timing was," posted on X. "I enjoyed my 7+ years there, got to use some different muscles, wrote some things I'm still proud of and made some good friends. I'm open to roles inside and out of journalism. I assure you that my skills go beyond snarking on this site, though I do think I'm pretty good at that, too."
"Today, after four months, I was laid off from my first 'big girl' job," posted Navarro. "I am so grateful for my time at @startelegram where I met the best people. Fort Worth has phenomenal reporters covering their city, and I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to learn from them."
I’m sorry to say that my position at the Star-Telegram was among those eliminated this week by McClatchy. The outcome was not unexpected, but the specific timing was. I enjoyed my 7+ years there, got to use some different muscles, wrote some things I'm still proud of and made…
Today, after four months, I was laid off from my first “big girl” job. I am so grateful for my time at @startelegram where I met the best people. Fort Worth has phenomenal reporters covering their city, and I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to learn from them. https://t.co/bLLBPJpHcm
I am sad to report I am one of seven people in my newsroom affected by McClatchy’s massive cuts. My last day as the service journalism editor for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram will be Thursday, Sept. 24. pic.twitter.com/iyNZVuErSZ
Meanwhile, in San Antonio, News 4 San Antonio WOAI and FOX 29 San Antonio KABB owner Sinclair told MySA.
"WOAI and KABB are committed to positioning the stations for long-term sustainability and we have made the difficult decision to eliminate a small number of positions in our content center [newsroom]," the spokesperson said. "These changes will allow us to operate more efficiently and continue delivering exceptional local news and content to San Antonio viewers. We thank those affected for their contributions to the stations and the community."
I have not seen anything on social media about the Sinclair San Antonio cuts, nor have any on-air folks been removed from the stations' bios sites.
KPRC 2 Houston reporter Re'Chelle Turner has welcomed a baby girl.
Turner announced the birth of Imani Giselle Echols on September 5, 2026.
“September 5, 2026 forever one of the most important days of our lives!” Turner shared on social media.
Turner said her daughter's entrance into the world wasn't what the family expected, but that Imani is healthy, perfect, and already more loved than she will ever know.
She added that she plans to share more about her birth story when she is ready. For now, Turner said she is simply thanking God for carrying her through and blessing her with a beautiful family.
Turner married Faison Echols on September 4, 2021, in Birmingham, Alabama.
The couple met while taking a Mass Communications class at the University of Alabama. After dating long-distance for seven years and living in five different states, the couple eventually moved to Houston.
Turner joined KPRC 2 in 2020 after working at KARK 4 in Little Rock.
Cleo Greene is stepping away from NBC 5 DFW KXAS for maternity leave as she prepares to welcome her second child.
Greene became a mom for the first time in February 2023 when she welcomed her son, Conrad. Now, she is getting ready to add another little one to the family.
Greene admitted that the pregnancy has been difficult lately, saying she has been dealing with a lot of pain. But her love of television, meeting people and telling their stories kept her showing up.
And she certainly made the most of her final day in the studio, knocking out eight interviews.
Greene joined NBC 5 KXAS' lifestyle show Texas Today, which airs weekdays at 11:30 a.m.
A self-described military brat, Greene joined WFAA in January 2018 after spending nearly three years as a reporter at KSTP-TV 5 Eyewitness News in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Earlier in her career, she reported for WBOC TV16 in Salisbury, Maryland, and WRDW News 12/NBC 26 in Augusta, Georgia.
Greene began her broadcasting career in January 2009 as a feature reporter and anchor for PBS in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. She graduated from Rowan University.
News 4 San Antonio and Fox San Antonio investigative reporter/fill-in anchor Jordan Elder is expecting with her husband and former station colleague Matt Roy.
Isabella Martinez has announced that she has joined NBC 6 South Florida WTVJ in Miami as a freelance reporter.
Here is what Martinez posted on socials:
"I’m homeeee! All I can say is WOW. Thank you, God. You truly work in mysterious ways. What I thought was going to be a quick trip home before I had to pack my bags and move again ended up getting extended a little longer… I’m so excited to announce I’m joining the @nbc6 team! Feels real good to say that. So grateful for the opportunity to serve my community while doing what I love most."
Earlier this summer, in June 2026, Martinez left KVIA ABC-7 in El Paso after joining the station in July 2023. During her time in El Paso, she worked as the Good Morning El Paso reporter, anchored the noon newscast, and most recently hosted the station's "7 in the City" feature series.
Martinez is not the only KVIA journalist to leave for the east and work for an NBC-owned and operated station. Mauricio Casillas left KVIA for NBC4 Washington WRC a few years ago and has since returned to the El Paso TV station.
When she announced her departure from ABC-7, Martinez said she was returning home to Miami to spend time with family while considering the next chapter of her career.
Now, that next chapter has taken her to NBC 6.
Martinez was born and raised in Miami. Her Hispanic heritage comes from her parents, with a Bolivian mother and Colombian father.
She earned a Bachelor of Science in Broadcast Journalism, with a minor in Sociology, from Suffolk University in Boston.
While at Suffolk, Martinez worked as a student reporter for the university's NECN segment, "Suffolk in the City." She also created and produced her own show, "Suffolk Fusion," which highlighted international students' experiences on campus.
I had just told you about Jackson leaving KCEN 6 in Waco-Temple-Killeen in August 2026 after two years at the station.
At the time, I figured she might land at another TEGNA sister station. Well, it looks like I was wrong!
She joined the 6 News team at KCEN in August 2024 as a multimedia journalist.
Jackson graduated cum laude from the University of Mississippi with a bachelor's degree in Journalism and a minor in Law.
While at Ole Miss, she worked as a reporter and anchor for the student-run NewsWatch Ole Miss, gaining experience that helped launch her career in television news.
The KPRC 2 press release sent to me early on Labor Day morning did not mention Myers' new position at Channel 2. So don't assume he is going to the empty weekend morning slot left open by Brittany Begley's departure. There will be lots of changes coming to KPRC with the debut of ENOUGH and the station's 9pm streaming newscast, which I will have more for you soon. Stay tuned. And I am told by multiple sources that no meteorologists are leaving either.
“Coming back to Houston feels like coming home,” Myers said. “I know how quickly weather can change here and how much viewers depend on having someone they trust when conditions become dangerous. I’m excited to be back serving this community and joining the KPRC 2 team.”
I've been blogging about Myers for years, and, to my recollection, the last time he appeared on Houston TV was when he was filling in at FOX 26 KRIV in 2021.
Naturally, Houston audiences will best know Myers from his years with ABC13 KTRK from 2017 to 2021. And now he is working with KPRC part-time meteorologist Rachel Briers, also previously with Channel 13.
Myers joined KTRK shortly after Hurricane Harvey in 2017, following the departure of meteorologist Casey Curry. He spent four years at ABC13 as a weekend morning meteorologist.
“Houston weather demands experience, urgency and a real understanding of the communities we serve,” said KPRC 2 News Director Ana Lastra. “Collin knows this region, understands the challenges that come with forecasting along the Gulf Coast and shares our commitment to helping viewers stay prepared and safe.”
After leaving Houston, Myers spent approximately five years in the Dallas-Fort Worth television market. His work included forecasting and anchoring coverage of severe weather outbreaks, tornadoes, and winter storms.
He worked with the CBS Station Innovation Lab on the syndicated CBS NOW program, alongside current KHOU 11 weekend morning anchor Trason Bragg. The program was eventually shut down.
Myers' Texas television career began at CBS Austin's KEYE, where he worked weekends with Adela Uchida (former ABC13 weekend anchor) from 2015 to 2017 before moving to Houston. Maybe Channel 13 management was watching the Austin TV duo?!
Before coming to Texas, Myers worked at WIBW 13 in Topeka, Kansas, where he served as a weekday meteorologist and storm chaser. He had previously worked with WIBW as a contractor earlier in his career.
The Kansas native also interned at KOCO 5 in Oklahoma City while attending the University of Oklahoma. Myers earned his degree from OU, where he studied aerospace engineering, meteorology, and advanced theoretical physics.
His interest in severe weather is personal as well. Myers experienced the devastating 2013 EF5 tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, an event that reinforced his commitment to communicating potentially life-saving weather information to viewers.
He is also an experienced storm chaser and has documented 14 tornadoes.
