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Saturday, January 03, 2026

Friday, January 02, 2026

ChatGPT roasts KVUE Daybreak

Austin 2025 TV and radio job moves

JANUARY

- Brianna Perez joins KVUE Austin
- Ryan Chandler joins NBC News from KXAN Austin
- Austin Burkes joins KATV ABC 7 Little Rock
- Atiana San Miguel joins FOX 7 Austin
- Live from UT Austin, it's the Saturday Night Live archives
- Avery Travis and Will DuPree promoted to KXAN anchors
- Zack Shields celebrates 25 years with FOX 7 Austin

FEBRUARY

- Hearst to buy Austin American-Statesman, now covering Austin, Houston and San Antonio
- Fred Cantú to retire from CBS Austin after 53 year broadcasting career

MARCH

- Michael Crowley joins CBS Austin
- Michael Garfield joins FOX 7 Austin
- Fred Cantú CBS Austin sign-off special

APRIL

- Bryan Mays returns to KVUE Austin mornings
- KC Sherman joins KVUE Austin
- Baby news for Texas TV anchor, hosts and more
- John Krinjak leaves FOX 7 Austin

MAY

- Matt Fernandez leaves KVUE Austin
- Sophia Stamas leaves CBS Austin
- Tyler Feldman joins Locked On NHL Game Night
- LeVon Whittaker joins KXAN Austin
- KVUE anchor can't resist the pet segment

JUNE

- Ryan Chandler is trying to save lives
- Rebecca Thomas leaves FOX 7 Austin
- Casey Claiborne leaves FOX 7 Austin
- Kristen Currie fills in on CW39 Houston
- Michael Courier joins KVUE Austin

JULY

- Lauren Rangel leaves FOX 7 Austin
- Tan Radford leaves FOX 7 Austin
- Marc Mullins joins KVUE Austin
- Noah Gross is the KXAN weekend sports anchor
- KXAN Austin gets new control room
- Allison Martinez joins KVUE Austin
- Tatjana Deegan promoted to Audacy Austin Senior VP and Market Manager
- Amanda Ruiz joins FOX 35 Orlando

AUGUST

- Alec Nolan joins FOX 7 Austin
- TV anchors guess is it name-brand or HEB?
- Chelsey Khan leaves "We are Austin"
- Sally Hernandez celebrates 25 years at KXAN Austin

SEPTEMBER

- CBS Austin ND Rob Cartwright joins CBS Boston
- Sierra Waggoner joins KEYE's We Are Austin
- “Faders Up: The John Aielli Experience” documentary out now

OCTOBER

- 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

NOVEMBER

- Abigail Velez joins ABC7 KABC Los Angeles
- Andrew Lamparski joins CBS Austin

DECEMBER

- Lisette Hernandez joins "Your Mornings" on Spectrum News 1 Texas
- Maddie Kirker moves to Spectrum News 1 Texas evenings

Thursday, January 01, 2026

Wednesday, December 31, 2025

John King of KHOU 11 Houston has died

KHOU 11 photojournalist John King has died, just days before his 44th birthday, his station reports.

"We lost a talented journalist and an even better colleague," said KHOU 11 General Manager David Loving in a statement. "He brought professionalism, heart, and generosity to work every day."

King joined KHOU in June of 2023.

"John made our newsroom better," KHOU 11 News Director Kathryn Bonfield added. "He worked hard, lifted others up, and brought kindness and respect to every assignment. You could feel his joy and grace in the way he worked and how he treated people."

He previously worked for News 4 San Antonio WOAI and FOX 29 KABB as a photographer and producer for Cleto Rodriguez's "Where’s Cleto" segment.

Starting his career at KFDM 6 Beaumont as a studio technician, King later moved into a news photographer role.

A Texas Southern University and Willowridge High School grad, King was known as a lover of music.

"John was very musically talented as well and had a great ear for great music," said Channel 11 reporter Ugochi Iloka. "I saw him perform at one of his shows with his band. That man can play the drums like nobody’s business. He loved music just as much as he loved being a photojournalist. We would jam to Magic 102.1 singing and getting hype on the way to our news assignments. I remember we tried Trill Burgers at the Rodeo on me and he smiled real big. I wanted him to know he was thought of and valued."

KHOU reports a balloon release will be held in King's honor at 5 p.m. on Friday, January 2nd, at Emancipation Park in Houston.

San Antonio's Jud Ashmore dies at 101

Jud Ashmore, known for his long-time work in San Antonio TV and radio and for the phrase "Hug somebody. It'll make you feel good," has died at the age of 101.

Ashmore, who achieved legendary status during his time at KSAT12, KENS 5, KBUC, and WOAI, went to college in 1946 and graduated just in time to be swept into the Korean War in 1950. He joined the U.S. Air Force as a meteorologist and retired in 1968 with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Just two days later, he joined the KSAT 12 San Antonio news team.

Within weeks, Ashmore was also reporting the weather on KITE Radio, working alongside radio legends Ricci Ware and Paul Allen English. Radio, he later said, was a dream come true. Television was fine, but it didn’t compare.

In 1970, Ashmore left San Antonio to work in radio and television in Indianapolis and later San Francisco. While both were major markets, they never felt like home.

At the first opportunity, he returned to San Antonio in 1972 to become chief meteorologist at KENS 5. While with KENS, Ashmore published a book called "Texas Weather."

Two years later, Ashmore reunited with Ricci Ware for a morning show on KBUC Radio. He joked that the duo had the market cornered on “B.S. and romance.”

CORRECTION: KVUE Austin's Bob Buckalew let me know that Ashmore was let go by KENS in 1974 and joined KSAT that same year.

By 1980, balancing late nights on TV with early mornings on KBUC had become exhausting. The decision between television and radio, he said, was no contest. Radio was more fun—and more profitable.

Ashmore left KENS in 1980 and stayed with KBUC until the station was sold in 1986. That same year, he joined powerhouse News Radio 1200 WOAI, where he delivered weather reports until 2002.

After two years of what he called “fake retirement,” Ashmore returned to the airwaves at KRNH in Kerrville.

He officially ended his career in 2012, though never his love affair with radio.

Ashmore is a 2017 inductee of the San Antonio Radio Hall of Fame and a 2024 inductee in the Texas Radio Hall of Fame.

Ed Wallace, KLIF 570, FOX 4 and Fort Worth Star-Telegram car critic, dies

Ed Wallace, 72, the beloved North Texas automotive journalist whose storytelling entertained radio listeners, TV viewers, and newspaper readers for decades, died December 28, 2025, at his Fort Worth home.

Wallace was a longtime friend of FOX 4 KDFW’s Good Day morning newscast, where he appeared every Friday for nearly 30 years to review the latest cars and trucks. He cherished the role until retiring in 2022.

Beyond television, Wallace built a remarkable career in print and radio. He wrote nearly 1,000 columns for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and hosted the popular Saturday morning radio program "Wheels With Ed Wallace" on KLIF 570, which debuted in 1993 and remained on the air for more than three decades.

Wallace retired from radio about a year ago. His cause of death has not been disclosed.

He is survived by his wife, Judi Smith, who also retired from KDFW around 13 years ago.