Kahanek Out, Mowry In

CBS11 announced Meteorologist Larry Mowry will be the new face of weather for the number two station’s 10 p.m. news.

Meteorologist Kristine Kahanek will then shift to weather at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Mowry moves to late night weather, a change from previous early morning job at the Orlando CBS affiliate.

Unclebarky.com’s story includes information about Veteran news anchor Tracy Rowlett.

Hyland Out, Izaguirre In

Belo’s WFAA News8 has named Cynthia Izaguirre as the replacement for Daybreak co-anchor Jackie Hyland.

She leaves at the end of November sweeps.

Hyland leaves after a little more than two years at WFAA. She is returning to New York to spend time with her family.

Hyland’s Video Blog “I’m going home.” She joined the News8 Daybreak team in August 2005 after five years as a reporter and anchor in New York.

Hyland says goodbye on News 8 Daybreak.

Izaguirre is familiar with the DFW market. She is a University of North Texas graduate who spent the last eight years in Albuquerque, New Mexico at KOAT-TV as a 5, 6, and 10 p.m. news anchor. See KOAT-TV’s “Big Announcement.”

Izaquirre joins the Daybreak team Jan 2nd.

“When you talk to her, you’ll see the things we saw in her,” Belo8 news director Mike Valentine said in a telephone interview with Ed Bark of Unclebarky.com Tuesday. “She’s so vibrant and has such an outgoing personality. I think the viewers will really kind of respond to her. We think it’s going to be a home run.”

On her station’s website, Izaguirre said that New Mexico has become her second home. She returns to Dallas, where most of her family currently lives. KOAT’s “Remembering Izzy.”

Unclebarky.com’s story on the anchor switch.

A video of Izaguirre recently made the rounds of the internet. Here’s her on YouTube from a slip up while reading a story during a Live Action 7 Newscast.

NBC5 Reporter Switches Careers

NBC5 reporter Nigel Wheeler announced plans to leave the station at the end of the week to pursue a career in the music industry.

Wheeler is the lead singer for the local DFW rock band Egress. He leaves the station for a year-long worldwide tour of 300 dates.

Wheeler joined KXAS in July 2004 and reports weekdays as a general assignment reporter.

In a recent 10 p.m. newscast, Wheeler said he changed his stage name to Kali Green to help distance himself from his television image and keep personal and professional lives separate.

“If I come back to TV I don’t want people to be confused,” he said. “Kali Green is actually my middle name. Kali means Prince, Nigel means dark, so at least for now, greetings from the Dark Green Prince.”

Egress’s drummer Matt LeBlanc describes the band’s sound as a blend of funky reggae, rock, and calypso. The band’s most recent album was released in September and has already sold over 2,000 copies.

Wheeler said fellow employees at NBC5 understand that he is trying to pursue his dreams. But his parents’ reaction was less-than-positive.

“My father describes the decision as catastrophic,” he said. “My mother is thoroughly convinced I will end up a dreadlocked, crazy man trying to rock out the universe.”

As a journalist, Wheeler received many awards, including an Associated Press award for “Best Broadcast.”

His previous reporting gigs were in Anaheim, California, Salisbury, Maryland, and West Palm Beach in Florida. Wheeler received his degree in Mass Communications with a minor in Spanish Literature from the University of California at Berkeley.

Egress will perform their last show in DFW at Monte Carlos in Arlington on November 30.

For more information check out the band’s Myspace Page at myspace.com/egressmusic.com