L.A. Anchor Lynette Romero Joins KNBC Following Sudden Departure From KTLA: 'This Is Good News'

The Emmy-winning news anchor will begin her new role as a weekday anchor on KNBC's morning show beginning Oct. 10, according to the NBC affiliate

Lynette Romero Joins KNBC After KTLA Exit
Photo: Lynette Romero/Instagram

Lynette Romero has a new home on the air in Los Angeles.

The Emmy-winning news anchor has announced she is joining KNBC's Today in L.A. as weekday anchor and reporter following her sudden departure from CW affiliate KTLA earlier this month.

Romero shared the "breaking good news" on her Instagram page, where she teased her new gig, which begins Oct. 10.

"You've been asking where you can follow me & now my friends you know!" she wrote alongside a video of herself explaining her decision to join the NBC affiliate network.

"This is good news," Romero says in the clip. "I always get to share your good news, and finally I get to share my good news with you! I have a new family. I have a new home."

Romero was a member of KTLA for nearly 24 years. According to The Los Angeles Times, her final day on air was supposed to be the same day her contract expired: Sept. 18. But her departure was announced Sept. 14.

KTLA executives have been criticized for how they handled Romero's exit, including the decision to have entertainment reporter Sam Rubin break the news during a 40-second segment on a weekday news broadcast.

Mark Mester, a fellow Los Angeles-area news anchor, was fired from KTLA shortly after criticizing how the station's executives handled his co-anchor's departure.

Last week, Mester apologized to viewers for the short segment announcing Romero's departure, which he called "unfortunate" and "inappropriate."

"I want to start off right now by offering up an apology to you," Mester said in a clip from the show that was posted on social media. "What the viewers experienced was rude, it was cruel, it was inappropriate and we are so sorry."

Local News Anchor Suspended After Criticizing Treatment of Former Co-Anchor and Her Controversial Departure
Mark Mester/instagram

"I also want to say sorry to Lynette Romero, because Lynette," he continued, before adding, "Lynette deserved to say goodbye, it didn't happen. I don't know who wrote the script, I don't know who handed it to Sam Rubin. Regardless, this was a mistake."

However, KTLA spokesperson Gary Weitman has said Romero suddenly asked to go on vacation during the final week of her contract, and could have said goodbye on the air, according to the Times.

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Executives only offered to send a camera crew to Romero's house for a video goodbye message after the initial backlash from her departure, per the report.

Romero will now join co-anchor Adrian Arambulo, meteorologist Belen De Leon and traffic anchor Robin Winston as the newest member of the Today in L.A.'s weekday crew.

Renee Washington, Vice President of News at KNBC, said Romero "has the right combination of journalistic experience and genuine warmth that comes across on the air and in person."

"She is a dynamic anchor with an upbeat approach to help our viewers kick start their day," she added in Tuesday's press release, "and I am happy to welcome her to the NBC4 family."

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