Anchor-reporter Gilma Avalos departs CBS11, quickly lands in NYC
10/16/19 10:51 AM
By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
As previously tweeted from afar (Minnesota), anchor-reporter Gilma Avalos has resigned from D-FW’s CBS11 after a five-year stay.
It now can be reported that she’s quickly landed elsewhere. New York City’s WNBC-TV has announced that Avalos will be co-anchoring the station’s weekend P.M. newscasts while also reporting on weekdays. Her first day is Nov. 4th.
Hired by CBS11 in October 2014 as a weekend morning anchor and weekday reporter, Avalaos lately had been co-anchoring weekday early evening newscasts with longtime incumbent Doug Dunbar. But she was left off the 10 p.m. editions, where Dunbar soloed while CBS11 won the total viewers ratings wars at that hour in the November, February and May “sweeps.” CBS hasn’t had a full-time desk mate for Dunbar at 10 p.m. since Kaley O’Kelley left back in May 2018. She’s now anchoring mornings in Phoenix.
Another shoe soon could drop at a rival D-FW TV newsroom. Avalos is married to WFAA8 reporter Bradley Blackburn, who joined the station in January 2016 after previously serving as an associate producer for the ABC network and for fusion.com. Blackburn and Avalos were married in September 2017.
Avalos is a Columbia University graduate who arrived at CBS11 from Miami’s NBC station, WTVJ-TV. As a 12-year-old, she broke into the TV biz as the host of Paleokids, a Spanish language children’s program for Discovery Channel. The El Salvador native also has previous experience in New York as an anchor-reporter for News 12 The Bronx.
LOCAL TV NEWS NOTE: Fox4 reporter Blake Hanson, who joined the Dallas-based station in July 2017, has been promoted to a weekend anchor spot. He’ll solo on the Saturday 6 and 9 p.m. newscasts and join incumbent Natalie Solis on the Sunday 5 and 9 p.m. editions while also continuing to reporter on weekdays.
Hanson is succeeding Richard Ray, who retired in May of this year after 36 years at Fox4.
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