McHenry--The New KXAN TV Weekend Morning Anchor

Welcome Back

Catenya McHenry is now KXAN TV’s (NBC) new weekend morning anchor. She blurted out the announcement this past weekend on her Facebook page. “I’m so excited and thrilled to say I’m the new weekend morning anchor. I’m ecstatic about the opportunity!” She replaces Jenny Hoff who was awarded a fellowship to study in Germany.

For months, Ms. McHenry has been on the air at KTBC as a reporter. No one would say anything about her presence or future. Management described her status as “temporary”. Her picture and bio were not included on the staff page with all of the rest of newsroom, but McHenry is a familiar face. She reported on KXAN in the late 1990s.

Then, she stepped away from broadcast news for several years. Here, she worked for a while in the public information office of the Austin Independent School District. She was also a TV reporter in Universal Pictures “Miss Congeniality” starring Sandra Bullock. While dabbling in acting, she did freelance work.

Now, she’s back where she belongs: Austin TV news. When Catenya McHenry smiles, you know she’s happy, and she’s smiling most of the time.

There is another familiar face back on the air in Austin. Chris Coffey is reporting for KEYE TV (CBS). Coffey was the award-winning investigative reporter for “7 On Your Side” on KTBC TV (Fox) from 2004 through mid-summer 2009 when Fox failed to renew his contract. Coffey was laid-off with six other news employees in a cost-cutting move. Coffey went to work for KEYE in March. (I’m just catching up.)

KXAN wins the award for the most new reporters, in addition to Ms. McHenry.

Jerrod Wise started work May 12^th as a “multi-platform journalist” (AKA “one-man-band”). He’s in constant fear: He’s an University of Oklahoma Sooner and a native of Oklahoma.

Chris Sadeghi is a native Texan and a Longhorn. He joined KXAN in April, 2010.

Jacqueline Ingles is a native of Chicago covering “The Hill Country” for KXAN. She been on board since last November, but it’s worth noting that she graduated summa cum laude from Loyola before earning her master’s at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern.

KXAN reporter Josh Hinkle also has a MA. His master’s is from Missouri. His undergraduate degree is from Oklahoma State.

It appears that the staffs at KVUE, KTBC, and News 8 have been rather stable—very little change lately. It comes in cycles, however once one gets to Austin, they often stay even if they leave the news business. If they do leave, they often come back. Funny how that works out.

© Jim McNabb, 2010