Texas TV news and radio job moves October 2025

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DALLAS - FORT WORTH

How Bruce Collins manages both WBAP and KLIF 570.

Dallas’ KSCS Leads Country Morning Drive’s Top 10 With 37-Year Veteran Hawkeye.

Mark “Hawkeye” Louis and Rachel Ryan of New Country 96.3 KSCS will present at 2025 NAB Marconi Radio Awards at NAB Show New York.

Radio Luz to end in Dallas.

Family of NBC 5 photojournalist still seeks justice 30 years later.

When 101 KLOL was in Dallas?

Nick Wooten has been promoted to commercial real estate reporter at The Dallas Morning News. 

Kayla Peterman joins WFAA 8 as a producer.

- Raquel Amparo new Texas TEGNA VP of Content
- Ali Turiano joins FOX 4's "Good Day"
- Bo Roberts exits Lone Star 92.5 KZPS Dallas - Fort Worth
- Evan Andrews signs off FOX 4 KDFW "Good Day"
- CBS News Texas goes virtual reality with 11am newscast
- Karen Borta celebrates 30 years with CBS News Texas
- Perry Sook reveals Nexstar-TEGNA deal outcome in DFW
- Hanna Battah leaves FOX 4 KDFW
- Clarice Tinsley to be inducted into Emmy Gold Circle
- Nicole Baker leaves CBS News Texas in layoffs

HOUSTON

Laura Isensee named Houston Chronicle's new education editor.

KHOU 11 executive producer Uriel Posada has been named managing director of Spectrum Noticias New York City.

Jennifer Reyna and Outlaw Dave reunite at ‘Runaway Radio’ River Oaks Theatre screening.

Audacy Houston's Sarah Frazier was recognized as Market/General Manager of the Year (Markets 1–20) at Radio Ink Magazine's 33rd Annual Radio Wayne Awards.

Photographer Todd Smith retires from FOX 26 KRVI after 32 years.

KPRC 2 Production Technician Gene Bryan retires after 23 years.

Houston Chronicle data reporter Matt Zdun leaves.

Houston Rockets announcer Matt Thomas calls a more personal game — his daughter’s matches at Kingwood High School.

The media winners in OutSmart Magazine 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards.

Rowdy Rides Into Northern Illinois.

Hope Media Group is excited to announce the addition of Obadiah Haybin as the new host of WayFM’s afternoon show. 

Rice Thresher named finalist for ‘Pulitzer Prize of college journalism.’

Power outage leaves ktru temporarily closed.

- Eddie “The Boner” golfed with Alice Cooper
- Mike McGuff appears on "Hello Houston!"
- Mayra Moreno is pregnant
- Houston Public Media announces new leadership
- 93Q Houston wins 2025 CMA radio station of the year award
- Sean Salisbury exits SportsTalk 790 after iHeart layoffs
- Estéreo Latino 93.3 returns to Houston
- Doug Abernethy returns to Radio One
- Idolina Peralez returns to CW39 Houston KIAH as chief meteorologist
- Victor Jacobo joins CBS Chicago
- Bob Allen's movie career with the Astros and World Series
- Texas 2025 Marconi Award Winners
- Jonathan Mejia leaves FOX 26 Houston
- ABC13 lands 76th Annual H-E-B Thanksgiving Day Parade
- Mike McGuff on "The Ann Harder Show"
- AstroWorld memories 20 years later after closing
- Houston-based CBS News correspondent Janet Shamlian cut in Paramount-Skydance merger
- Owen Conflenti leaves KPRC 2 Houston

SAN ANTONIO

Univision turned 70. Here’s how the Spanish TV network got its start in San Antonio. 

Ramzi Abou Ghalioum returns to SABJ as data reporter.

KTSA, San Antonio holds Annual Thanksgiving Fundraiser.

- Matt Roy leaves News 4 San Antonio WOAI - KABB
- Ernie Zuniga moves to KSAT12 San Antonio evening anchor duties

AUSTIN

After over 13 years at Rock 93.7 KLBJ-FM Austin, LA Lloyd has exited the station in a budget cut.

Audrey Allen departed Mix 94.7 Austin.

Christian Hip Hop “Boost Radio” launches.

UT Press & CBS Austin Anchor John-Carlos Estrada revives the lost story of Texas icon Barbette.

KUT News rounds up Central Texas media for new daily show.

Melissa Barragán Taboada to lead new Austin newsroom.

KVUE's Hannah Rucker recognized for her advocacy work highlighting children in Texas foster care at the ‘Be Inspired’ gala.

Texas Tribune announces full lineup for 2025 festival in Austin.

With redevelopment stalled, Base Power takes over former Austin American-Statesman site.

The Texas Archive of the Moving Image combs the state in search of historical footage hidden in Texans' home movies.

- Taylor Alanis joins KXAN Austin
- Bryanna Carroll joins FOX 7 Austin
- Abigail Velez leaves CBS Austin
- Emilee Miranda joins CBS Austin
- Erin Garza named CBS Austin news director

AROUND TEXAS

Aleese Fielder makes a return as Market President for Townsquare Media’s Midland-Odessa, TX, cluster.

KRIS 6 News Corpus Christi photographer Manuel Venegas leaves after nearly 45 years.

Sports journalist Damien Bartonek leaves CBS19 KYTX Tyler.

Jamie Tanchyk adds Middays at 96.9 KLLL Lubbock.

KBTX 3 Bryan-College Station reporter Donnie Tuggle leaves the station.

KRIS 6 Investigative Reporter Lea Zora named 2026 Chauncey Bailey Fellow.

Victoria Advocate names Monique Brand as New Managing Editor

KFDX TV-3 Darrell Franklin was named a Midwestern State University distinguished alumnus.

Nexstar Media Charitable Foundation Donates $5,000 to Friends of AJ Swope in Amarillo, TX.

Emma Burns joins the KLTV Tyler news team in 2025 as a multimedia journalist.

- Cassidy Towns joins KBTX 3 BCS
- Angel San Juan suffers minor stroke
- Newly married media members in Texas
- Jordan Williams to leave 12News Beaumont
- Allan Gwyn joins KAMR Local 4 Amarillo
- Mary Kate Hamilton leaves KOSA Midland-Odessa
- Texas media baby births and pregnancies
- Angie Martinez named KRGV news director
- Texas TV October 2025 anniversaries

REMEMBERING

Longtime Dallas Morning News editorial and business writer Jim Mitchell has died at 71.

KFDX Wichita Falls team member Glen Bacus passes away.

The new newsroom studio

Mythical Economics of Content Creation

Owen Conflenti leaves KPRC 2 Houston

Owen Conflenti has left his longtime KPRC 2 morning anchor position, along with others (more details below), and no, this is not a Halloween evening trick.

Multiple sources informed me this morning that Conflenti, who has been on the morning newscast since 2005, was no longer there. 

I asked KPRC 2 for comment, and three or so hours later, the station posted an article on its website saying that Conflenti and the station had parted ways.

"We appreciate Owen’s many contributions to KPRC 2 and the Houston community," new KPRC 2 VP/General Manager Sean McLaughlin said online.

"After 20 years, my time at KPRC 2 has come to an end. I’m so grateful to the viewers who welcomed me into their homes each morning, to my coworkers who became family, and to the station for two incredible decades," Conflenti said in an online statement.  "Thank you, Houston, for the privilege of sharing your stories."

And here I just posted my affections for Conflenti last week.  Hopefully, the station did not hold that against him, as they are no longer directly responding to my inquiries.  

The station says while it "works to name a permanent replacement, various members of the KPRC 2 News team will join morning anchor Sofia Ojeda on the desk."

Conflenti is the longest tenured anchor at Channel 2. 

What KPRC did not post online is that it has also apparently let go of two of its new Managers of Content and Coverage, or MCC positions, according to multiple sources.

As someone who is sitting here writing about recent layoffs in radio and TV, one has to wonder if this is all a cost-cutting measure?

Oddly enough, KPRC has a history of dropping anchor news on Halloween.  Back in 2022, just as now, I was busy blogging about big anchor changes as trick-or-treaters prepared to hit the streets in search of candy.  

For 20 years, Conflenti has co-anchored the KPRC 2 News Today morning news.

Before joining KPRC 2, he served as the weekend anchor at WNCT in Greenville, North Carolina.

A native of Pittsburgh, Conflenti graduated from Central Catholic High School before earning his Bachelor of Science in Broadcast Journalism from Emerson College in Boston. 

Proud of his Italian heritage, Conflenti also hosts an annual fundraising luncheon for the Italian Cultural and Community Center of Houston. A passionate Houston Texans fan, he’s known for his playful banter with rival fans in the NRG Park Orange Lot and for his friendship with Texans mascot Toro, which led to a series of popular TikTok videos during the pandemic.

He is married and the father of four. 

Conflenti recently missed a month of work as he had surgery to repair a hernia.

Houston-based CBS News correspondent Janet Shamlian cut in Paramount-Skydance merger

Janet Shamlian, a Houston-based CBS News correspondent with a history at local H-Town stations, has been cut, according to Deadline, as part of the massive Paramount layoffs following the acquisition of CBS News by Skydance.

That leaves Karen Hua as the only CBS News national reporter based in Houston.

Just this morning, I posted that CBS News Texas KTVT Dallas-Fort Worth evening anchor Nicole Baker was let go as part of the layoffs resulting from the merger.

A Peabody and Emmy Award-winning journalist, Shamlian has covered many of the most significant national and international stories over her three-decade career.

Before joining CBS News, Shamlian spent a decade at NBC News, where she reported for Today, NBC Nightly News, and MSNBC, following her 2005 network entry.

Before her national network career, Shamlian reported for CBS Chicago WBBM, KHOU 11 Houston, and served as a weekend news anchor at KPRC 2 Houston. She began her broadcasting career at WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

A graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Shamlian is a native of Chicago. 

In 2024, two former Houston reporters were cut from CBS News, with Anna Werner joining Gray’s InvestigativeTV in July 2025.

Nicole Baker leaves CBS News Texas in layoffs

Nicole Baker announced that she has been laid off from her CBS News Texas KTVT Dallas-Fort Worth evening anchor role, as part of the widespread layoffs and job cuts at Paramount and CBS News, following Skydance's takeover of the companies.

UPDATE: Houston-based CBS News correspondent Janet Shamlian cut in Paramount-Skydance merger

Here is what Baker posted on Facebook:

"After more than 12 years as an on air journalist and more than seven years with the company, I was impacted by yesterday‘s sweeping layoffs at #Skydance #Paramount via #CBS news. 

To the family that found me Texas: I’d like to thank you for the last 3 1/2 years of growth, of triumph, of laughter, of pits and valleys and plenty of unforgettable lessons on and off camera. 

Tor the first time in my professional life I have no idea what’s next, but I am so excited because I know who is holding the pen. He can see what I cannot and I trust in that. 

I’m more than grateful for the time to recalibrate and rejuvenate myself from the inside out while I figure out what comes next. 

Thank you to my village. You know who you are, and I love you more than words can say. 

To everyone else who may have been watching along from a position of complicated curiosity … I am equally grateful for you. The power to transmute anything intended to break me became my elixir. You took nothing away while making me the strongest and most authentic I’ve ever been.

God sees and knows all and for that I’m grateful."

"I’m heartbroken over this," posted First Alert Chief Meteorologist McKenna King. "Nicole was not just a colleague, but quickly became a best friend. We were the brown and beige twins. She truly brightened up the newsroom and her energy and presence is already so missed."

The Emmy-nominated evening anchor helmed the 5, 7, and 10 p.m. newscasts with Doug Dunbar starting in May 2022. She came from sister station CBS Baltimore WJZ, where she anchored for nearly four years.

Baker began her broadcasting career at WJFW 12, Rhinelander, Wisconsin, where she worked as an anchor, reporter, and producer before moving on to WJCL 22 in Savannah, Georgia.

A Spelman College graduate with honors, Baker interned at CNN and WSB.

Inspired by her uncle, a beloved Philadelphia radio personality, Baker followed in his footsteps into the broadcasting industry. She landed her first on-air position just days before his passing.

Baker is an active member of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and a legacy member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. 

Hanna Battah signs off FOX 4 KDFW

Start spreading the news, she's leaving today...Hanna Battah signs off FOX 4 KDFW Dallas–Fort Worth on October 30, 2025.

She anchors The Ten, the noon, and 4pm newscasts.

AstroWorld memories 20 years later after closing

Twenty years ago, Six Flags AstroWorld closed its gates for the last time on October 30, 2005.

 Iconic rides like the Texas Cyclone, Greezed Lightnin’, and Ultra Twister took their final spins before much of the park was later auctioned off to the public. 

Reflecting on the legacy of Houston’s beloved theme park are Houston media blogger Mike McGuff, former AstroWorld employee and Super Happy Incredible Toys owner Juan Salazar, and Donald Hayes, curator of the traveling AstroWorld Theme Park Museum exhibit and collection. 

 Houston Matters, hosted by Craig Cohen, is your daily guide to the people, places, issues, and ideas shaping Greater Houston. Catch the show live on YouTube weekdays from 9–10 a.m. CT or tune in to News 88.7 on Houston Public Media.\

- Where did those Astroworld rides go?
- VIDEO: The real reasons Astroworld closed
- The former coasters of Six Flags Astroworld!

Texas TV October 2025 anniversaries

Friday Football Frenzy! I launched it in 2006, now Season 20 /Week 8 tonight! @KinkaidAthletic @EHSSports #KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/9MotGVQt7C

— Randy McIlvoy (@KPRC2RandyMc) October 18, 2025

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A post shared by Audrey Castoreno (@audreycastorenotv)

Clarice Tinsley to be inducted into Emmy Gold Circle

Clarice Tinsley, who joined FOX 4 KDFW Dallas-Fort Worth in 1978, will be inducted into the Lone Star Emmy Chapter's Gold Circle at the group's upcoming awards show in November 2025.

The Gold Circle honors media professionals who began their careers in television at least 50 years ago, in a performing, creative, technical, or administrative role within the industry, or in an area related to television, such as TV journalism, education, advertising, promotion, and public relations.

In 2024, former ABC13 Houston KTRK anchor Dave Ward and WFAA 8 Dallas-Fort Worth Production Operations Manager Jerry Cadigan joined the Gold Circle.

Tinsley was inducted into the chapter's Silver Circle in 2012, recognizing media professionals who began their careers in television at least 25 years ago.

She joined KDFW Channel 4 Dallas–Fort Worth on December 4, 1978, years before the FOX network even existed, co-anchoring alongside Barry Judge, with Gary Bazner delivering the weather and Allen Stone reporting sports.

A graduate of Wayne State University, she came to North Texas television from WITI Channel 6 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The longtime anchor has earned some of journalism’s highest honors, including the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award, a DuPont-Columbia Citation, multiple Emmy Awards, and numerous recognitions from the Dallas Press Club, Texas Associated Press, and American Women in Radio and Television. She was also inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame in 2020.

Tinsley’s work extends beyond the newsroom. She’s a passionate community advocate and storyteller, serving as Reading Ambassador for the Mayor’s Summer Reading Challenge since 2008, inspiring children across Dallas to develop a lifelong love of reading. In 2017, the State Fair of Texas honored her legacy by creating the Clarice Tinsley Journalism Scholarship, awarded annually to a student pursuing a career in broadcast or print journalism.