Tara Mergener Joins KWTX As Anchor, EP

Broadcast journalism veteran Tara Mergener will join Gray Television’s CBS affiliate KWTX Waco, Texas (DMA 87). beginning in mid-September she will join the News 10 at Ten anchor team alongside Gordon Collier, Rusty Garrett and Ed Sorensen. Mergener will also serve as executive producer of evening newscasts.

As a freelance correspondent for CBS Newspath, CBS Entertainment, CNN and Hearst-Argyle Television based in Washington, Mergener brings a decade of breaking news experience to Central Texas.  She has covered the White House, Congress and the U.S. State Department, providing extensive political and breaking news coverage, including the infamous shootings at the Washington Navy Yard and Virginia Tech as well as catastrophic weather events.

“KWTX is continually looking to elevate our newscasts, especially when it comes to covering the breaking news that has an impact on our viewers’ daily lives. We believe Tara is the perfect fit to continue to push us in the right direction,” said KWTX News Director Mikel Lauber.

Mergener succeeds longtime evening anchor Julie Hays, who stepped back from the 10 p.m. newscast in June to spend more time with her young family.  Mergener and Hays will co-anchor News 10 at 5, while Hays serves as executive producer of dayside newscasts and co-anchor of News 10 at 6 with Gordon Collier.

Mergener, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communication from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from the Boston University College of Communication, spent the early part of her career as a reporter and fill-in anchor at WMUR Manchester, N.H.