KHOU 11 Houston reports that a suspicious package forced the evacuation of its own Galleria-area building on Monday night.
For the 10 p.m. newscast, Channel 11 staffers left their studio at 5718 Westheimer and relocated to its downtown Houston KHOU Avenida Studio.
Police say an officer heard a vibrating sound around 7:30 p.m. when opening a package sent to the Saudi Consulate General on the 15th floor of the building.
Officers declared the package safe and let everyone back in the building around 9 pm.
Ana Lastra has been promoted to the KPRC 2 Houston news director as of September 2024 from the newly created position of Manager of Content and Coverage she has held since July.
Lastra joined KPRC in 2021 as Executive Producer of Investigations and Special Projects and was promoted to Director of Enterprise and KPRC Originals, followed by Assistant News Director in December 2023.
Before Houston, Lastra worked for KSTP 5, which covered the Twin Cities in Minnesota. She started as a producer in 2015 and was promoted to investigative producer in 2018.
Lastra started her TV career with KTUL Channel 8 Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2012 as a Weekend/Nightside Assignment/Web Editor. By 2014, she was a weekend producer/assignment editor. In 2015, she produced weekends and Good Morning Oklahoma newscasts.
The University of Oklahoma grad served as the OU Daily multimedia chief, interned with Moore Monthly, and was a News21 Fellow.
Rick Dean will retire as the KXII News 12 Sherman General Manager effective December 31, 2024, after 45 years in media.
Dean started his broadcasting career at a radio station in Oklahoma City in 1979. His radio career spanned six years, during which time he worked his way from sales to sales management with three different stations.
In 1985, he joined KXII and worked for multiple owners until Gray Media acquired the station in 1999.
During his tenure with KXII, Dean worked as an Account Executive, Assistant Sales Manager, and General Sales Manager until being promoted to General Manager in 2002.
Throughout his career, KXII won countless awards from the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters in both Radio and Television and the Texas Association of Broadcasters in Television, as well as Oklahoma and Texas Associated Press awards and three Regional Edward R. Murrow awards.
Maddie Kirker has joined Spectrum News 1 Texas as a morning meteorologist as of September 2024.
"Catch me every Weekday Morning in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio (and most of Texas) I’m LIVE all morning," Kirker posted.
Kirker, based in Austin, was previously the Morning/Noon Meteorologist for “Wake Up CBUS” on 10 WBNS Columbus, Ohio. She joined the station's Doppler 10 Weather Team in November 2022.
Before working at WBNS, Kirker spent:
- Three years as the Weekday Noon and 4pm Meteorologist at News 3 WTKR Norfolk, Virginia.
- Two years in Colorado Springs at FOX 21 News KXRM/KXTU as the Weekend Morning Meteorologist,
- Two years as the Morning Meteorologist at WPDE ABC15 Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
- Two years at WCBI 4 Columbus, Mississippi as a meteorologist.
Kirker is a 2011 Mississippi State University grad and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Broadcast Meteorology. As a student, she won honors in the National Collegiate Weather Challenge, forecasting her way to first place out of 1,500 undergraduates and fourth overall in Allentown, PA.
“The Dana Cortez Show” joins Mix 96.5 Houston KHMX mornings starting next month.
I have learned that current morning host Jessie Watt will be added as the local Houston producer for the new show. Longtime Mix 96.5 host Sarah Pepper left Houston in May.
Beginning November 4, 2024, KHMX will debut the Houston-focused morning show featuring Dana Cortez, DJ Automatic, and Anthony A on weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. The station will also be the flagship for Skyview Networks’ nationally syndicated program.
“The Dana Cortez Show” features candid discussions on various trending topics, relationship advice, and pop culture, delivered with comedy.
“We are thrilled to welcome ‘The Dana Cortez Show’ to Mix 96.5 and Houston,” said Sarah Frazier, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Audacy Houston. “Dana, DJ Automatic and Anthony A bring an incredible energy, humor and relatability that resonates with audiences everywhere. We’re excited for our Houston listeners to experience the unique blend of entertainment and real-life conversations that have made the show a hit nationwide.”
“I’m so excited to wake up and connect with H-Town’s amazing community,” said Cortez. “Sarah Frazier and Melissa Chase are visionaries, and being on the Mix 96.5 team is a perfect fit for our show’s new flagship station.”
In 2018, Cortez became the first Latina to host a syndicated morning drive radio show.
"The Dana Cortez Show” has established a track record for ratings and revenue generation, consistently outperforming its predecessors.
In January 2023, the show launched its weekend counterpart, “The Dana Cortez Weekend Show.” The show provides listeners exclusive behind-the-scenes access to their favorite stars, whether it’s Dana on the red carpet at The Grammys to interviews with stars and celebrities. Skyview Networks is the syndication partner for “The Dana Cortez Show” and “The Dana Cortez Weekend Show.”
Before being hired for the Dallas Stars' play-by-play radio role, Bruce LeVine was a WFAA 8 Dallas-Fort Worth sports reporter who, in 1991, would have missed Nolan Ryan's last no-hitter if he 'had food at home.'
Caroline Fletcher was promoted to the News 12 KXII Sherman evening newscast co-anchor position in August 2024.
Fletcher takes Brenda Teele's spot, who left in July.
“I am honored to accept the evening anchor role,” Fletcher said. “I have fallen in love with Texoma while working in Ardmore. I look forward to growing as a journalist while working alongside the best news team in Texoma. I look forward to serving our viewers in a new way.”
Fletcher, who has been the KXII weekend anchor, will now anchor the 4 p.m. newscast and co-anchor 5 p.m., 6 p.m., and 10 p.m. weeknights with Jeff Eliasoph, chief meteorologist Steve LaNore, and sports director David Reed.
She joined Channel 12 in June 2020 as a reporter at the Ardmore Bureau.
The University of North Texas Mayborn School of Journalism grad has been nominated for a Lone Star Emmy and appeared in Netflix's "Tiger King" season 2.
Deadline reports that 75 employees have been impacted by layoffs at ABC News and ABC-owned stations, which also includes Houston's ABC13 KTRK mikemcguff.com has learned.
I hear around three staffer layoffs at KTRK, some of which are affecting the news department. No on-air roles were affected.
"It’s no secret that our industry is undergoing a transformation unlike any other, and we’re seeing headlines every day about streamlining across every major media company," president of ABC Owned Television Stations Chad Matthews said in an employee memo obtained by Deadline. "While we’re not immune to the pressures facing this business today, we have been – and will continue to be – strategic with decisions about our organization’s future."
In July, KTRK and other Disney Entertainment Television properties went through layoffs, too.
