On September 14, veteran entertainment news reporter and KTLA-5 team member Sam Rubin shared the news that well-known 24-year station veteran Lynette Romero had exited what is today the West Coast flagship station for the nation’s biggest owner of broadcast television stations, Nexstar Media Group.
Her departure made headlines for how management opted to share the news, and for a former co-anchor’s unscripted “apology” to viewers on the September 17 telecast of the KTLA5 Morning News that ultimately cost him his job.
Why did Romero leave? Rumors were swirling that she was jumping across town, to Burbank, specifically. That chatter turns out to be wholly correct. She’s joining the news team at KNBC-4.
Specifically, she’ll soon be a TODAY In L.A. anchor/reporter — a much-bigger role than what FTVLive.com reported was a like-in-kind weekend anchor role at KNBC, where she would compete directly against her old team and former co-anchor Mark Mester at KTLA-5.
Starting October 10, Romero will join Adrian Arambulo, meteorologist Belen de Leon, and traffic anchor Robin Winston for newscasts airing between 4am-7am weekdays.
It ignites an early-morning news war between KNBC and KTLA, while also putting KCAL-9 on notice as it seeks to establish its own local news block scheduled to begin at 4am. Then there are KTTV-11, the FOX O&O and its successful “Good Day L.A.,” and KABC-7.
“Lynette has the right combination of journalistic experience and genuine warmth that comes across on the air and in person,” said Renee Washington, Vice President of News at KNBC-4. “She is a dynamic anchor with an upbeat approach to help our viewers kick start their day, and I am happy to welcome her to the NBC4 family.”
In a video shared with NBC4’s audiences, which appears above, Romero said, “I have a new family, I have a new home. I’m going to ‘Today in LA’ at NBC4 and I’m so excited. So come with me, let me open the door and welcome you in. I can’t wait to get started.”
Meanwhile, KTLA is now looking for two new news anchors in weekends, as it parted ways with Mester for his unscripted, and unauthorized, remarks about Romero’s exit.
