Finestone Named KCBS-KCAL News Director

Southern California news veteran Tara Finestone today was named vice president and news director of KCBS and KCAL, the CBS-owned duopoly in Los Angeles. She succeeds Bill Dallman who left the stations last month.

Finestone, who has been the stations’ assistant news director since July 2016, is assuming responsibility for overseeing one of the largest local broadcast and digital news departments in the country.  KCBS and KCAL  produce more than 65 hours of local newscasts a week.

“Since joining us two years ago, Tara has done a terrific job of earning the respect of her colleagues and being a key contributor to a cohesive team that consistently delivers high-quality local news coverage,” said Steve Mauldin, president and general manager of the stations. “I was very impressed with her leadership of our newsroom during last month’s Southern California wildfires and how she worked with our community partners, including the American Red Cross, to help raise money for people who suffered losses.”

“Tara also stands out because of her breadth of knowledge and experience in the digital space. She really knows how to use all of our platforms, in both broadcast and digital, to connect with our audience. We look forward to having her make the most of this opportunity to lead our newsroom and continue to make a difference in the communities we serve.”

Finestone assumes her new role with more than 20 years of local and national news experience, including the past 15 years in the Los Angeles market.  Prior to joining KCBS-KCAL, she was an executive producer at KTLA Los Angeles.  Before that, Finestone was a supervising producer at Current TV. She moved to Southern California in 2003 and spent nine years in various network and local positions with NBC News and KNBC Los Angeles.

A Seattle area native, Finestone graduated from the University of Washington with a B.A. in communication and media studies and worked as a producer at stations in Seattle, Salt Lake City and Spokane, Wash.