S. Florida a wellspring of top TV talent

If some national news anchors and reporters look familiar, it might be because they’re originally from South Florida, or previously worked in the area.

ABC weekend news anchor Tom Llamas and reporter Gio Benitez are South Florida natives who worked at stations in Fort Lauderdale and Miami before taking highprofile jobs with the network. And NBC’s “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd is a graduate of Miami Killian Senior High School in Kendall.

Here’s a roundup of some well-known faces from South Florida. ABC “World News Tonight” weekend anchor Tom Llamas is a Cuban-American native of Miami. From 2005 to 2009, he worked as a reporter and anchor

at WTVJCh. 6, where he covered several hurricanes, including Katrina.

Viewers may remember Kelly

Cobiella from her days as a reporter and anchor at WPLGCh. 10 in Fort Lauderdale-Miami from 1998 to 2003. She then

worked at CBS News as a Miami, Dallas and New York correspondent. Viewers can watch Cobiella on NBC News, where she is a Londonbased correspondent.

Fort Lauderdale native Jose Diaz Balart was an anchor at WTVJCh. 6 from 1988 to 1996 before moving to CBS News as a morning anchor. He now anchors “Noticiero Telemundo,” the network’s early evening news program, and hosts the network’s Sunday morning public affairs program, “Enfoque con Jose Diaz Balart.” On Saturdays, he anchors the 6:30 p.m. NBC Nightly News.

NBC “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd isa Miami native who graduated from Miami Killian Senior High School in Kendall.

Katie Couric worked as a general assignment reporter at WTVJ (then Ch. 4) from 1984 to 1986, serving the Fort Lauderdale-Miami market. She is best known as a former co-host of NBC’s “Today” show. Today, she is Global News Anchor for Yahoo.

Before she was an on-camera personality at MSNBC, Joy-Ann Reid worked in South Florida TV. She started as a writer for WSVNCh. 7’s morning show in 1997. The New York City native later worked at WTVJ-Ch. 6 in Miramar as an online news editor. The Harvard graduate now hosts her own show “AM Joy” from 10 a.m. to noon weekends.

Bryan Norcross is a meteorologist and hurricane specialist at The Weather Channel. But South Floridians best remember him for his work during Hurricane Andrew in 1992. While working at WTVJ (then Ch. 4), he was the steady, calm voice that comforted so many for 23 consecutive hours during the Category 5 storm coverage. He started his South Florida weather broadcasting career at WPLG-Ch. 10 in 1983. He lives in Miami Beach and Atlanta.

Before joining the Fox News Channel in 1996, Shepard Smith worked as a reporter for WSVNCh. 7.

Rick Sanchez anchored newscasts at MSNBC and CNN, but got his start in South Florida. Sanchez, who grew up in Hialeah, became a reporter at WSVNCh. 7 and later the lead evening anchor. He was at WSVN from 1982 to 2001.

Steve Kroft joined ABC affiliate WPLG-Ch. 10 in 1977. Three years later, he became a reporter for CBS News. He’s best known as a correspondent on “60 Minutes,” the CBS Sunday program.

Jeff Pegues covers justice and homeland security as a national reporter for CBS News. He worked as a reporter at WSVN-Ch. 7 from 1997 to 2000.

Llamas

Cobiella