Sheba Turk, the high-profile co-anchor of WWL-TV's popular Eyewitness Morning News, is moving on from the local CBS affiliate.
She is headed to Los Angeles to take a weekend anchor job at KCAL-TV.
Her last day on-air at WWL-TV is scheduled for Dec. 30.
"It’s hard to see longtime staffers leave but I’m always proud when one of us gets to do something great," WWL executive news director Keith Esparros said in announcing Turk's departure.
"For more than a decade, Sheba has been a bright spot and vibrant personality on the Morning News. That she can bring her level of energy to a marathon newscast on a daily basis is nothing short of inspirational."
Sheba Turk on the set of WWL-TV's "Eyewitness Morning News" in New Orleans in 2018.
A New Orleans native, Turk, 33, graduated from Dominican High School and the University of New Orleans. During her time at UNO, celebrity broadcast journalist Soledad O’Brien became one of her mentors.
Turk took her first job at WWL in September 2011, months after her UNO graduation. Her career has followed a steep upward trajectory ever since.
She started as a desk assistant; her duties included helping out with scripts. She shifted to being in front of the camera as the morning show's traffic reporter.
As recounted in a WWLTV.com story about her impending departure, she volunteered to help with Hurricane Isaac coverage in 2012. That helped earn her a promotion to morning show reporter.
From there, she made the leap to Eyewitness Morning News co-anchor alongside the veteran Eric Paulsen. She also hosted the award-winning lifestyle show "The 504," which aired weeknights on WUPL-My 54.
She and Paulsen's bantering and good-natured bickering is a hallmark of the morning show. More recently, she developed a playful rapport with morning show meteorologist Payton Malone.
Anchor Sheba Turk, second from right, with traffic reporter April Dupre, left, co-anchor Leslie Spoon, anchor Eric Paulsen, and meteorologist Dave Nussbaum at the WWL-TV studios in 2018.
Beyond the TV screen, Turk is an enthusiastic social media user, frequently posting portraits of her sleek, stylish and colorful attire. She has also shared portraits of herself on her travels to New York, California, Africa and elsewhere.
In 2018, she published a memoir, "Off Air: My Journey to the Anchor Desk," that chronicled her personal and professional progression so far. O'Brien wrote the foreword.
Turk's journey will now take her to Los Angeles, one of the two largest media markets in the country.