KBTX 3 Bryan-College Station announces new anchor lineup

KBTX 3 B/CS Announces New Evening Anchor Teams

Steve Fullhart

KBTX Media is proud to announce new anchor teams for its 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 and 10:00 p.m. weekday newscasts.

News 3's Steve Fullhart and Karla Castillo are joining Chief Meteorologist Shel Winkley and Sports Director Darryl Bruffett at 6:00 and 10:00 p.m. weeknights. The duo has anchored First News at Four since the newscast's inception in 2011. Fullhart has anchored News 3 at Five since 2012.

The 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. newscasts will soon be anchored by Kathleen Witte and Rusty Surette. Witte arrives at News 3 later this month from KBTX's sister station in Alexandria, Louisiana, KALB. Surette will start at KBTX in May when he finishes work at KWTV, the CBS affiliate in Oklahoma City.

KBTX has a married anchor team

KBTX Bryan-College Station's "Brazos Valley This Morning" teams up newlywed anchors Kathleen and Josh Ninke

I am late on this one, but it is interesting to note that KBTX News3 Bryan - College Station now has a married morning anchor team.

UPDATE MARCH 2022
Kathleen and Josh Ninke joining WAVE 3 Louisville, Kentucky

Kathleen Witte (who now goes by Ninke on air) and Josh Ninke met each other at KBTX in 2017 and just got married earlier in 2020. 

"I will say that our bosses asked if maybe Josh would consider taking my last name, Witte, so we could call the show, 'Wake up with the Witte's,'" joked Kathleen in an exchange with KBTX evening anchors Karla Castillo and Rusty Surette in announcement about the big schedule change before its debut.

As of early September, the newlyweds have been waking up together at 2:30am with Kathleen moving from anchoring the 4pm and 6pm newscasts to join Josh on "Brazos Valley This Morning" at 4:30am.

"Maybe it'll be easier because when his alarm goes off, I already wake up a little bit," Kathleen said.  "So now I'll just stay awake instead of going back to sleep. Wait a second. This is sounding this isn't sounding good [laughing]."

Surette added that when the now newlywed anchors first met, in his opinion, they were newsroom flirts!

"There was immediate chemistry," Castillo added. "This is nothing but respect to all of y'all, and I think, you know, you kept that boundary, that workroom and friends. But I think we could always tell there was something there. And that's what I think has been fun when y'all started dating and then you got married, I think we were like 'finally!'"

"We fought it for about a year, year and a half," admitted Josh. "But then it was like, 'Oh, yeah, no, this is exactly what we're supposed to be doing.'"

Anchors across the world have to look like they like each other or at least pretend like it on air, but this won't be a problem for the new BVTM team.

But even if love is in the air, the newsroom bosses still carefully suggested the new on-air pairing.

"When our boss, Josh, our news director, also named Josh [Gorbutt], when he sat me down, he said, 'Hey, this is the plan and I'm going to do it unless you tell me right now that you're like on the brink of divorce,'" Kathleen admitted. "And I said, 'We're not. We're newlyweds, so I think if ever a couple can handle it, it's right now at the beginning, it's right now."

Also on the un-official "News with the Ninke's" is meteorologist Max Crawford and reporter Fallon Appleton. No word if those two are in relationships, but what if cupid struck the KBTX team twice?

With Kathleen's time slot move, morning anchor Erika Fernandez moves to the 4pm newscast and Castillo adds 6pm news duties.

Kathleen and Josh Ninke joining WAVE 3 Louisville, Kentucky

Kathleen and Josh Ninke, the married KBTX News3 Bryan-College Station morning anchor team, are leaving for Gray owned sister-station WAVE 3 Louisville, Kentucky.

UPDATE
Karla Castillo moves to KBTX 3 mornings

The Ninke's last day on air at KBTX 3 will be March 25, 2022.

Here is part of what Kathleen posted on Instagram about the TV journalist couple's new job:

"At the end of the month, Josh and I are moving to Louisville, Kentucky, to report at KBTX’s Gray Television, Inc. sister station, WAVE News. 

This is the very definition of bittersweet. I have been living in Bryan and working at KBTX for seven years now. I can barely believe it, y’all. I made some of my best friends here. I bought my first home here. I found my church here. I adopted my silly cat here. I met my less silly (but still a little silly) husband here. 

Most importantly, I learned what it means to be part of a COMMUNITY here. I’ve never experienced a place as dedicated to its own betterment. The people who live here are deeply good, and I consider myself lucky to have gotten to know them through reporting and otherwise. 

Many of you already know what it means to us to move back closer to our families. Frankly, it’s difficult to put into words. The idea of finally being short drives from our parents, our siblings, their children, makes me so happy I want to cry. Different from the tears that come when I think of what I’m leaving."

Maybe "News with the Ninkes" will return one day at WAVE 3.

Back in 2017 Kathleen Witte and Josh Ninke met as KBTX co-workers.  They were married in 2020 and months later the same year co-anchors on "Brazos Valley This Morning."

Kathleen Ninke joined KBTX in 2015 from KALB 5 Alexandria, Louisiana.  The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill grad with a master's from the University of Missouri-Columbia interned at ABC11 WTVD Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina and was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee.

Josh Ninke joined KBTX in July 2017 from WAKA 8 Montgomery, Alabama where he was a weekend anchor/reporter. The University of Georgia grad got his start in the TV news biz with WTVM News Leader 9 Columbus, Georgia as a community web producer/reporter.

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A post shared by Kathleen Witte (@kbtxkathleen)

Texas TV & radio job moves October 2017

DALLAS - FORT WORTH

Dale Hansen, the opinionated sports anchor for WFAA/Channel 8, will be with the station through at least 2018.

DEMETRIA OBILOR joins WFAA-TV as a traffic/ensemble anchor and will host an AM digital show. - United Talent Agency
- It's a "social" whirl at TEGNA8's new Twitter/Facebook-driven Daybreak

Former KDFW reporter, Diana Zoga, has landed back on air full-time at KXAS NBC5.

Amanda Guerra Moves To Morning Co-Anchor At KRLD-A/Dallas.

Former long-time CBS Newspath Regional Producer, Derik Lattig, has been working as a Supervising Producer/Writer at Glenn Beck's Blaze TV since February and has accepted a full time position. Lattig was one of 12 Regional Producers CBS terminated when it closed it's Regional Offices in February.

HOUSTON

Courtney Zubowski working for CBS News.

Jacob Rascon debuts as anchor on KPRC 2.

Former KPRC anchor Courtney Zavala returns to channel 2 as Houston Life host.

Mike O'Neill has left his job as a producer at KHOU 11. He is now working with the Lance Roberts Show on 700 KSEV. Roberts will soon launch a subscription-based website for investors called Real Investment News. O'Neill will work with former FOX 26 KRIV reporter Scarlet Fakhar on the site.

KTRK abc13 weekend anchor Tom Abrahams celebrates 18 years with the station.

The K-TOR The Tornado radio studio at Ball High School will be officially known as "The Anita Martini K-TOR Studio".


SAN ANTONIO

Anchorwoman Sarah Lucero has tendered her resignation after nearly 20 years at KENS.

Ex-San Antonio TV anchor star Chris Marrou returning to KENS.
- San Antonio TV legend Chris Marrou reveals new KENS role

San Antonio TV anchorman Charles Gonzalez is hanging up his KSAT mic after 10 years to focus full time on another passion: coffee.

KSAT-TV names new anchors.

AUSTIN

CBK Media Management client Sydney Benter has been named Weeknight News Anchor at KXAN-TV (NBC) in Austin, Texas (Market #39). As one of the station’s new main anchors, Sydney will anchor KXAN News at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m., and KXAN News at 9 p.m. on The CW Austin.

Tania Ortega has been named weekend morning anchor of Fox 7 KTBC Austin, Texas (DMA 39).

KVUE's Cori Coffin is joining FOX 5 DC as a reporter.

AROUND TEXAS

CBK Media Management Client Tobias Rodriguez is making a 166 market jump to become a News Reporter at WSPA, the CBS affiliate in Spartanburg, SC (Market #37). Prior to South Carolina, Tobias was a Multimedia Journalist at KAVU (ABC) in Victoria, TX (Market #203).

Shakeup signs at KGBT Harlingen TV Spy reports. There is no sign of evening anchor, Eddie Flores.

KXXF/Beaumont, TX Adds Gary Lee Love For Afternoons.

KBTX anchor Kathleen Witte was badly burned in a fire that she started in her condo.

Joe Gazin hits 40 years at KIII Corpus Christi.

REMEMBERING

The celebration of Buddy Holiday’s life – one of the founders of KSBJ and the first Station Manager and morning show host of KSBJ – was held on Saturday, October 14th, at the Rosewood Funeral Home in Humble.

Former KTRK abc13 photographer Kevin Greer passes away.