Jennifer Peñate Joins WCVB Boston As Weekend Evening Anchor/Reporter

Jennifer Peñate

Jennifer Peñate will join Hearst Television ABC affiliate WCVB Boston as weekend evening anchor and general assignment reporter beginning June 28.

The announcement was made today by WCVB President & General Manager Kyle I. Grimes and News Director Margaret Cronan.

She will co-anchor weekend evening newscasts with Shaun Chaiyabhat and will report during the week.

Peñate comes to Boston from WFLA-WTTA Tampa, Fla. Her roles included anchoring English-language newscasts on WTTA and WFLA, in addition to anchoring and creating WTTA’s Spanish language newscast Noticias Tampa Hoy, where she also served as the newscast’s managing editor.

In addition, Peñate was an integral contributor to TampaHoy.com, the station’s Spanish language news website reporting on information important to the Latinx community.

“Jennifer is a talented journalist whose experience and values will make her an excellent addition to WCVB,” said WCVB President-GM Kyle I. Grimes. “She has also been long dedicated to public service having volunteered for numerous nonprofit organizations as well as founding her own focused on mentorship. Jennifer’s journalism excellence combined with her commitment to her community make her a perfect fit for the WCVB team.”

Peñate spent the last three years as anchor and reporter on WFLA and WTTA where she received a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for her digital reporting on TampaHoy.com. Before WFLA and WTTA, Peñate spent three years as evening anchor at KNWA in Fayetteville, Ark. While at KNWA, she covered stories that garnered national attention like the historic flooding of the Arkansas River that displaced hundreds, the assassination of a local police officer, and chaotic protests surrounding the death of George Floyd.

Peñate began her career in 2011 as a reporter at KODE Joplin, Mo., where she earned several awards for her reporting including honors from the Missouri Broadcasters Association and the Kansas Association of Broadcasters. Also, while at KODE, she was named by the Joplin Regional Business Journal as one of the 2016 Most Influential Women.

Peñate was born in El Salvador and grew up in both Los Angeles and Northwest Arkansas. She graduated with a Journalism and Spanish degree from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Peñate is also a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.