WDJT Names Jessie Garcia News Director

Weigel Broadcasting’s CBS affiliate WDJT Milwaukee has hired Milwaukee television news veteran Jessie Garcia as news director. She will lead all news programming efforts on television and digital platforms for WDJT, co-owned independent WMLW and Telemundo affiliate WYTU-LD.

Garcia joins from WTMJ Milwaukee where she most recently was editorial director. In her more than 25-year career at the station, she also held the positions of broadcast director and sports anchor/reporter. One of Garcia’s early career accomplishments was that she was the first female sports anchor in Wisconsin at WISC Madison.

Current News Director Kent Harrell and Garcia will work closely together to transition leadership of the news department in early 2022.

“Jessie is the right person at the right time. Her demonstrated ability to lead a newsroom, her proven track record of innovation, coupled with her deep knowledge of Milwaukee is a win for our team and our viewers,” says General Manager Anne Brown.

A multi award-winning journalist, Garcia’s involvement in the community that she serves extends beyond the newsroom. For five years, she taught journalism at several local universities including the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, Marquette University, Carroll University and Mount Mary University. Garcia is a published author and serves on the board of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Chicago Chapter.