Veteran journalist Andrea Parquet-Taylor has been named news director at Los Angeles sister stations KCBS and KCAL.
Parquet-Taylor officially starts on Dec. 7, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday. She is the third news director in three years at the CBS-owned duopoly.
A native of New Orleans, Parquet-Taylor has more than two decades of experience and has worked in Detroit, Baltimore, Houston and Raleigh, N.C. In 2017, she joined CBS-owned KTVT and KTXA as news director at the Dallas-Fort Worth stations. The following year, she was promoted to station manager.
Related Story: KCBS Decimates On-Air Staff Amid Company-Wide Layoffs
“I am grateful for this tremendous opportunity to be part of the CBS Los Angeles family,” Parquet-Taylor said in a statement.
She replaces former KCBS-KCAL news leader Tara Finestone, who exited the station last month.
KCBS-KCAL general manager Jay Howell described Parquet-Taylor as “highly regarded.”
“She is an outstanding news executive who never rests on her laurels, is highly regarded by the people who have worked with her and is always looking to break big stories,” Howell said in the statement. “I am thrilled to have her join us here in Southern California and lead our news department.”
Andrea Parquet-Taylor is the only Black news director at a CBS-owned television station, according to the Times. She joins the ratings-challenged Los Angeles duopoly amid layoffs and staff turmoil.
As previously reported, former KCBS anchor Jeff Michael sued the station in August 2020, after he was laid off from his position as an evening anchor. Michael’s lawsuit alleged discrimination because of health issues exacerbated by stress on the job. The station countered by saying his suit was “entirely without merit.”
Michael was let go in May 2020, when KCBS-KCAL decimated its on-air staff during a round of staff cuts amid the COVID-19 pandemic. News anchors Sharon Tay, Sandra Mitchell and weathercaster Garth Kemp were also laid off. At the time of the cuts, an insider told Urban Hollywood 411 staffers were “stunned and saddened” by the job losses.
Among other recent changes at the Studio City-based television stations, weekend evening anchor and weekday reporter Elsa Ramon left in May 2018, followed by longtime newscaster Leyna Nguyen in July 2018. Anchors Andrea Fujii and Jackie Johnson also left the duopoly. Evening news anchor Rick Garcia left the station as well. Garcia took over for beloved anchor Paul Magers, who announced his retirement in 2017.
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