Former KPRC 2 photojournalist injured in crash

Cheri Pressley, a former KPRC 2 Houston photojournalist, is in the hospital recovering from what her former station described as "a serious head-on collision involving a suspected drunk driver—who had already been arrested for DWI just weeks earlier."

KPRC reports a wrong-way driver struck Pressley as she was driving in a one-lane HOV stretch on the Gulf Freeway.

“I was going 60. I’m sure he was going at least that,” Pressley told reporter Joel Eisenbaum. “So that’s 120 miles an hour at least.”

Pressley suffered three breaks in her leg.

"My driver's door was somehow punched in, and that metal broke my femur," Pressley told FOX 26 KRIV Houston reporter Randy Wallace.  "He crawled out of his vehicle, and tried to escape, ran across the main lanes."

Before joining the Mayor’s Office, Pressley spent 21 years at KPRC 2.

Earlier in her career, the Texas State University grad worked at KUSA 9 Denver, KDFW 4 Dallas-Fort Worth, and KSTP 5 Minneapolis.

Happy Mother's Day...TV moms edition

 

TEXAS TV MOTHER'S WELCOMING CHILDREN SO FAR IN 2025

- Baby news for Texas TV anchor, hosts and more
- Rita Garcia gives birth to baby #2
- Texas media babies here or on the way!

FUTURE HOUSTON TV MOM'S EXPECTING

- Courtney Carpenter's ABC13 baby shower
- Allison Gargaro is pregnant

HOUSTON TV MOTHERHOOD ADVICE

- Deborah Duncan talks TV and motherhood
- Rashi Vats talks TV and parenting
- Danielle Grossman, from KPRC 2 to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
- Lauren Freeman talks Christian parenting with Keith and Lisa Garvin

TV News Reporting Under Pressure

950 KPRC AM turns 100

Today marks a century since 950 KPRC AM first took to the airwaves, beginning its broadcast journey on May 9, 1925, making it Houston's oldest radio station.

Initially transmitting at 1010 kilocycles per second (kc), the station shifted to its now-familiar 950 frequency in 1941. Its debut broadcast began with the words: “Hello, folks, everywhere.”

KPRC was founded by the Houston Post-Dispatch—later renamed the Houston Post—much like its sister station, 740 KTRH, which was later launched by rival newspaper, the Houston Chronicle.

The station’s call letters, KPRC, stand for Kotton Port Rail Center, a nod to Houston’s booming cotton, shipping, and rail industries at the time. The word "cotton" was intentionally spelled with a "K" to match federal rules requiring stations west of the Mississippi River to begin their call signs with that letter, while those east of the river typically begin with “W”.

Early programming was a mix of live music, comedy, sermons, children’s shows, poetry readings, weather updates, time signals, and news. In 1927, KPRC made headlines when it began airing police dispatches for the Houston Police Department—a groundbreaking public service at the time.

On December 24, 1946, KPRC expanded into FM radio with the debut of KPRC-FM, which would eventually evolve into today’s SUNNY 99.1 KODA.

In 1950, the Post extended its broadcasting presence into television, purchasing KLEE-TV and rebranding it as KPRC-TV. For decades, KPRC’s radio and TV operations shared facilities—until the Hobby family, longtime owners, sold the stations in the mid-1990s.

READ MORE ABOUT KPRC'S HISTORY

Marlene Guzmán leaves Telemundo Houston

Marlene Guzmán announced her departure from her Telemundo Houston KTMD reporting role, sharing that she's making a brief but deeply meaningful return to her hometown, Houston.

No word on where she is going next.

Guzmán joined Telemundo Houston as a multimedia journalist (MMJ) in November 2024.

Prior to that, she spent two years as a Texas-based National Correspondent for TelevisaUnivision. She previously worked at Univision 45 KXLN, where she began as a producer in July 2016 and advanced to weekend anchor and reporter in May 2017, a role she held until February 2022.

Earlier in her career, Guzmán served as an anchor and producer for Entravision’s FOX and Univision stations in Laredo, as well as a national and regional correspondent for Azteca.

Her broadcasting career began in December 2014 at what was then CBS Radio Houston (now Audacy), where she was an on-air personality and board operator for Mega 101 KLOL.

A proud University of Houston alumna, Guzmán gained early experience reporting for the school’s El Gato Media Network.

The bilingual journalist is the recipient of five regional Lone Star Emmy Awards and one National Emmy Award.

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Sophia Stamas leaves CBS Austin

Sophia Stamas has left her position as morning traffic anchor and Multimedia Journalist (MMJ) at CBS Austin KEYE. 

Stamas joined the station in August 2015 as a Special Projects and Investigative Producer. A proud native Austinite, Stamas spent her entire life in Texas, never calling another state home.

During her time at CBS Austin, Stamas earned a Lone Star Emmy Award for an investigative report exposing excessive foreign travel spending by a state agency.

Before joining CBS Austin, Stamas worked as the Weekend Anchor and Military Reporter at KCEN 6 Waco-Temple-Killeen. Her "Military Matters" coverage took her as far as Bagram, Afghanistan, where she embedded with Army troops in 2012 and 2014. She also covered military stories closer to home, including Fort Hood (now called Fort Cavazos) and Lackland Air Force Base.

Stamas began her reporting career as a MMJ at KXII 12 Sherman and previously worked as a producer at YNN in Austin (now called Spectrum News 1 Austin).

She graduated summa cum laude from Texas State University in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in Print Journalism and a minor in Theatre. While at Texas State, Stamas wrote and cartooned for the University Star newspaper, performed in numerous theatre productions, and worked part-time as a communications specialist for a major international staffing company. She also served as a teaching assistant for the university’s Stage Combat class, where she learned to choreograph realistic fight scenes—though she always believed the pen was mightier than the sword.

Beyond her journalism career, she served on the KLRU Community Advisory Board from 2008 to 2012.

In 2013, Stamas received the Central Texas Crime Prevention Association's Outstanding Media Award for her coverage of the Fort Hood shooter trial, the West explosion, and stories highlighting Military Police and crime prevention efforts.

Shelby Vogel joins KFDA NewsChannel 10 Amarillo weather team

Shelby Vogel is joining KFDA NewsChannel 10 Amarillo First Alert Weather Team from a digital role.

Here is Vogel posted on Facebook:

"I started my NewsChannel 10 journey in September of 2023 as a member of the digital team, where my digital responsibilities included a nightly Facebook live with Meteorologist Kevin Selle. 

After each Facebook Live ended, I would ask Kevin many questions about the weather changes and what was causing them. After a few weeks of this, Kevin asked me if I had ever considered weather as a career. I have always loved weather and watching storms with my dad, but I’d never considered doing it for a living. But how awesome would it be to tell people about something I’m passionate about while keeping my hometown area informed and safe?

After about two months of thinking and praying about it, I applied and started at Mississippi State University.

I have been training and absorbing as much information as I can from the guys on the First Alert Weather Team for about a year, and 

I am beyond excited to dive headfirst into everything the Panhandle weather has to offer."

As Vogel joins the KFDA weather department, meteorologist Tanner Brammer is leaving for WDBJ 7 Roanoke, Virginia.

KFOX El Paso morning and weekend anchor changes

Stephanie Muñiz joined KFOX14 El Paso in April 2025 to anchor mornings with Salina Madrid after almost a year out of the television news business.  

She previously worked for KOAT Action 7 News in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

Muñiz takes the role left open by Jessica Gonzalez when she took over evenings in October 2024 after Liz Dueweke left.

Madrid and Muñiz have known each other since their days as New Mexico State University students.

In other KFOX news, Julia Spencer is the new weekend anchor. She joined the station in August 2023 as a multimedia journalist and takes over for Ariana Parra, who left in November 2024. 

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KVIA El Paso has familiar faces moving and returning

Karen Taffanelli leaves Telemundo Abilene

Karen Taffanelli left her Telemundo Abilene anchor role in January 2025.

Taffanelli joined the Telemundo Abilene – KTAB news team in November 2022, anchoring weekday evening newscasts, Noticias Abilene.

She also served as a creator and producer for the first Nexstar Broadcasting Spanish newscast, Noticias Tampa Hoy, for WFLA in Tampa.

Taffanelli began her career in radio broadcasting at Telemundo T31, Orlando, where she was a noon and weekend news producer. 

She also worked as a radio news anchor, producer, and talent at Univision Orlando (Entravision) and iHeartMedia. She received a nomination as a producer in the morning show category at the Paoli Awards in Orlando.

Taffanelli received her bachelor’s degree in Communication and Journalism from Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In addition, Karen held certificates in commercial radio hosting and sports journalism.

Rashi Vats talks TV and parenting

FOX 26 Houston KRIV evening anchor Rashi Vats talks about juggling motherhood and a television news career with Meagan Clanahan of Houston Moms.

Vats says that their family schedule is more predictable now that her husband, Daniel Gotera, has left the TV business. The couple has a son and daughter.

The longtime journalist gets real as she discusses the ups and downs of being a hardworking parent in the spotlight.

Topics include dealing with mom guilt while staying positive, strategies for success, the importance of self-care, and acknowledging that it's okay not to always be perfect.