Avaionia Smith left her 6 News KCEN Waco-Temple-Killee meteorologist position in May 2025 and has recently joined KMVT 11 Your Hometown Station, Twin Falls, Idaho, as chief meteorologist.
Smith joined KCEN from WTOK 11 Meridian, Mississippi, in May 2024.
A Jackson State University graduate, Smith joined Storm Team 11 at WTOK in May 2022 and served as the meteorologist for "Good Morning Meridian."
Houston, TX – February 17, 2026 - Hope Media Group (HMG) has promoted Rob Anthony to Assistant Program Director for Worship 24/7.
In conjunction with this leadership growth, the ministry also confirmed that Worship 24/7 will move its studios from Portland, OR, to HMG’s Houston headquarters in March.
Anthony, who joined Worship 24/7 in 2022 in an operations role, has been instrumental in the brand's integration into HMG and will relocate to Houston to support the station’s expanding operations. Jeff Evans, VP of Radio for Hope Media Group, will continue to serve as Program Director for the network of 20 FM stations across 10 states.
“Rob has earned the trust of our leadership team through his consistency, collaboration, and commitment to the mission,” said Jeff Evans. “In this role, he will help carry forward the vision for Worship 24/7 while supporting the team and the ministry with excellence.”
Anthony expressed his enthusiasm for the new chapter and move to Texas.
“I can't say enough about how grateful I am to be part of this ministry! The past few months of integrating with HMG have been like an 'amuse-bouche' of what God has in store, and I'm excited not just to continue serving, but grow in every possible way,” said Anthony.
(This post was taken from a release sent to me by Hope Media Group)
DENVER – Feb. 17, 2026 – Telemundo Colorado / KDEN, part of NBCUniversal Local’s Telemundo Station Group, today announced that Emmanuel López-Capó has been named news director, effective March 9. López-Capó joins KDEN from Telemundo62 / WWSI and NBC10 / WCAU in Philadelphia, where he most recently served as executive producer. He will report to Tatiana Argüello, President and General Manager of Telemundo Colorado and Telemundo Utah / KULX.
An Emmy Award-winning bilingual journalism leader with more than 15 years of experience in broadcast and digital news, López-Capó will oversee all aspects of news editorial, production, and operations for Telemundo Colorado. He will lead the station’s cross-platform newsroom team in delivering comprehensive local news, weather, investigative reporting, and original storytelling to Spanish-speaking communities across TV, streaming and digital platforms.
“Emmanuel’s strong editorial leadership, commitment to developing newsroom talent and passion for serving Hispanic communities makes him the ideal person to lead our news team,” said Argüello. “His proven track record of delivering high-quality, community-focused journalism will further strengthen our mission to inform and empower audiences across Colorado.”
López-Capó has spent the last eight years with WWSI and WCAU. As executive producer for nearly five years, he led editorial strategy, newsroom operations and multiplatform coverage. During his tenure in Philadelphia, he earned multiple regional Emmy Awards for team coverage and was recognized as an AL DÍA 40 Under Forty honoree for his professional impact.
Prior to joining NBCU Local’s stations in Philadelphia as a senior producer in 2018, López-Capó spent more than four years as a news producer for Telemundo Puerto Rico / WKAQ, the Telemundo-owned station where he began his career as a production assistant and junior web content manager. He also spent time with Puerto Rico’s Wapa TV as news producer.
A native of Puerto Rico, López-Capó earned an undergraduate degree in journalism from Universidad de Puerto Rico, and he completed graduate studies in digital communications and media at the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón.
KSAT12 San Antonio's food series Texas Eats, hosted by David Elder, will expand to five days a week, airing Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. beginning Monday, March 2, 2026.
In addition to weekday mornings, Texas Eats will continue to run in its normal time slot on Saturdays at 10 a.m., with a rerun on Sunday evenings at 10:30 p.m. All weekday and weekend shows are available on KSAT12 and streamed for free on KSAT+.
Following Texas Eats, KSAT’s top-rated lifestyle show, SA Live, will air from 10:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Currently, SA Live is an hour-long show, so Texas Eats will take away its first half-hour.
“KSAT12 is thrilled to enhance our morning lineup with more local stories in the communities we call home. These changes reflect KSAT’s ongoing commitment to local programming and to telling the stories that matter most to our community,” said Ashley Parker, Vice President and General Manager of KSAT12. “By expanding Texas Eats and pairing it with SA Live, we’re giving viewers even more reasons to spend their mornings with KSAT12.”
The refreshed weekday morning lineup will now feature:
• GMSA at 9:00 a.m.
• Texas Eats at 10:00 a.m.
• SA Live at 10:30 a.m.
KPRC 2 Houston has expanded its 6pm newscast to 7pm during the Winter Olympics, replacing the long-running Entertainment Tonight.
And when I say long-running, ET has been in that time-slot since I was a kid back in the 1980s! Remember the John Tesh and Mary Hart days?
After receiving Channel 2 viewer questions about the newscast expansion, I reached out to the station, but never heard back. My guess is that the station brass are saying to me, "Hey, dunderpate, you can turn on the TV and figure it out yourself!"
I can take a hint, so last Friday, I did just that.
The half-hour extension with Keith Garvin and Stephania Jimenez covered the day's news and weather with Anthony Yanez, and around the 6:40pm mark, it shifted into Winter Olympic Coverage with Daniella Guzman.
Now I am no duPont-Columbia Award winner like investigator Amy Davis, but since I'm investigating all this on my own (by doing the hard labor of looking at online TV schedules), the KPRC 2 6:30pm expanded newscast continues to air this week...but here is the gotcha part! Next week, after the Olympics end, Entertainment Tonight will be back to its normal time.
Is that Murrow-worthy work or what? Actually, don't answer that...
Speaking of Amy Davis and not hearing back from KPRC, I heard that she and Bill Spencer were swapping schedules. I asked KPRC for comment weeks ago, and never heard back.
Stay tuned.
BY MARK GARAY
Anchor Mist:
One of the first news anchors I ever worked with was a chap named Ashley Webster. Ashley was from England and conveyed many of the tell-tale signs of an Englishman. He was peacefully proper. He displayed a mature attitude towards duty. And he sounded like no one else in tiny Helena, Montana, then market 210. It was an odd work of art, how a lad from London’s East End shadowed the news backdrop among the eastern slopes of the Rockies and the legends of Montana’s “Rocky Mountain Oysters” (Google it).
Last time I saw him, Ashley was doing network reports for Fox Financial. He was a great guy with great news instincts. But he couldn’t walk the mist.
Early on, I tried to personally capture that thing that made news anchors seem elevated. Not just talking audience numbers. I wanted what I refer to as The Anchor Mist.
It didn’t take long for me to see how some TV news anchors, very few, seem to effortlessly exude a charisma and confidence unique to our profession as broadcast journalists. These rare news readers carry sway without really trying, the kind of people who simply have that dignified way of carrying themselves. They are unafraid and always willing to engage in an array of debate scenarios, and they’re the best at them. They pursue subjects with the verbal aggression that might make weaker stomachs queasy.
I first recognized this syndrome when I worked in Las Vegas, with Gary Waddell. He was the main anchor at KLAS when I anchored mornings there in the early 1990s. Even as we’d whizz by his billboards on group motorcycle trips to Sunday breakfast, Gary (who rode a Harley Ultra) never took himself too seriously. He was really smart. But he didn’t advertise it.
Later, here in Houston, I met perhaps the best example yet. I spoke only briefly with anchor Sylvan Rodriguez on a few occasions and finally understood why he commanded such Houston market respect. Sylvan seemed to understand people really well, and that gave him The Mist. The fact is, pros like Sylvan can seemingly impress people not only on air, but every day during the afternoon meetings and newscast postmortem.
These are the people that everyone listens to. Coworkers will often follow them for drinks every Friday after the 10p.m. kicker. Others ask them to record cell phone greetings.
The way these professionals approach people and subjects can be subtle and remarkably effective, like a soothing, calming mist. Their grace isn’t particularly obvious or easily identifiable. But The Mist feels good. It’s not distracting. It can tingle your spine, but it won’t knock you over. A good mist is always refreshing. And people are usually drawn to it. An anchor with Anchor Mist is always controlled. Dignified. Elegant.
Modern-day examples of Houston TV Mist include Mia Gradney and Ilona Carson.
I worked with Mia when she interned. Even and especially then, as an eager collegiate ripping scripts and putting them in order, she displayed obvious symptoms of The Mist. Professional and attentive to detail. She honed it at Channel 39 and uses it well now at KHOU.
Ilona Carson is simply the best news anchor in the entire market, hands down. Lots of market observers are still scratching their heads on why 13 ever let her go. She’s got big skills. Unbendable, like you want in a truth teller. Warm enough to sell funnier, happier stories that look awkward when introduced by harder-edged anchor personalities.
Granted, much has changed since I walked to the exits 15 years ago. But solid and effective communication has not. More and more, less-experienced, less-engaging, less-credible people are appearing on TV and computer screens, mispronouncing words and playing the facts like a carnival shell game.
Then again, what the hell do I know? I only anchored weekends. I could feel it. But I later realized I could never, ever embody The Mist.
(Former ABC13 Houston KTRK anchor Mark Garay returns to mikemcguff.com as a guest blogger!)
In 20-plus years of writing this blog, I have never seen a Houston TV station appear in a national commercial campaign for a product, but KPRC is keeping it interesting for me.
That's right, KPRC 2 Houston is part of a Google Pixel and Gemini ad. In the ad, clearly labeled as sponsored, Channel 2 employees and news department journalists are interviewed about how they use their phones in their daily workflows.
I assume KPRC is still shooting video with ENG cameras and Pixels.
Shooting with mobile devices is nothing new in Houston, as FOX 26 Houston KRIV experimented with covering stories on iPads as far back as 2011.
What is new is AI as a tool, in which newsrooms across the country are struggling to integrate into their workflows. The commercial shows Gemini helping with headline ideas for Houston weather.
I interviewed a former Google employee last week for my real job and admitted to her that I am a Pixel fanboy, but even so, this commercial makes me uncomfortable.
Call me old school, but it is really odd to me that a TV station is promoting a product. I get it, television stations make money from commercials, but a TV station appearing in a commercial still gives me the ick.
But I also know that in these challenging times, TV station owners have to figure out how to keep the lights on by finding new ways to generate revenue. What do you think?
OK...KHOU, FOX 26, and ABC13...who is appearing in an iPhone or Samsung ad next?
Karla Gil has joined Noticiero Telemundo California (Telemundo 33 Sacramento / KCSO and Telemundo 51 Fresno / KNSO) as weather anchor for weekday newscasts at 5 p.m., 6 p.m., and 11 p.m. She will make her on-air debut on Monday, Feb. 16.
Gil joins Noticiero Telemundo California after serving as a weather anchor for Telemundo Kansas City / KGKC from 2023 to 2025. During that time, she also worked simultaneously as a weather anchor for Telemundo St. Louis / WXST, Telemundo Minnesota / KMNW, and Telemundo Portland / KJYY from 2024 to 2025, covering a wide range of severe and impactful weather events.
“Karla’s ability to communicate critical weather information in moments that matter most strengthens our commitment to serving our communities with accurate and trusted coverage,” said Candy Durán, News Director for Noticiero Telemundo California. “We are happy to welcome her to our newsroom, and I’m confident her strong experience in weather reporting and a clear, engaging on-air presence will resonate with our viewers.”
Gil has received multiple regional Emmy Awards for her work in the Weather and Environmental Science categories, including coverage of extreme cold conditions and tornado formation. She has also been recognized with a Best Weather Anchor Mid-America Emmy Award.
Gil holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Universidad Arturo Michelena.
Noticiero Telemundo California broadcasts simultaneously on KCSO and KNSO, Monday through Friday at 12 p.m., 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m., and 11 p.m., and weekends at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.
Sylvia Corkill left her News 9 KWTV Oklahoma City weekend anchor position in early February 2026.
Corkill joined the News 9 team in October of 2016 and became famous outside of television news after her appearance in the Netflix docu-series "Tiger King."
A proud Okie from Lawton, Corkill previously worked for KSWO 7News, Lawton, where she worked her way up to evening anchor.
She is a graduate of Cameron University.
