CTV British Columbia has chosen two very familiar faces as the new anchors of its flagship newscast. Tamara Taggart and Mike Killeen will begin anchoring CTV News at Six on Monday, January 3rd, 2011.
The announcement was made this morning to staff in CTV's downtown Vancouver newsroom and comes the day after veteran anchors Pamela Martin and Bill Good announced they are leaving at the end of the year.
By pairing Taggart with Killeen, CTV British Columbia will be able to continue offering what its news viewers have come to expect: an engaging combination of experience and credibility.
"Mike and Tamara are the perfect combination to take our newscast into the future," said Tom Haberstroh, Vice-President and General Manager, CTV British Columbia. "Both are already huge viewer favourites and well-respected throughout the community."
A third generation Vancouverite and graduate of BCIT Broadcast Communications, Taggart is a veteran broadcaster with deep roots in the community. She's been with the station for 13 years, co-hosting Vancouver Breakfast before taking over the weathercaster role on CTV News at Five, Six and 11:30.
Taggart connects with viewers. As a mother of three young children, she understands what's important to B.C. families and her community. She is also the most popular TV personality in the province, hands down, as chosen year after year in readers' choice polls conducted by TV Week and The Georgia Straight.
"This opportunity is by far the most exciting challenge of my career," said Taggart.
"Vancouver is my hometown: to get to do this in the city I love is an honour. The best part is that I get to share this experience with Mike, who is not only a great journalist but a good friend."
Like Taggart, Mike Killeen is someone CTV News viewers have come to know and trust. Also a graduate of BCIT, Killeen is an award winning, veteran journalist and former foreign correspondent who's been chasing stories for 25 years.
After covering the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China, he returned to Vancouver. He came to CTV ten years ago. After co-anchoring CTV's weekend newscast, Killeen became best known for his role as the Vancouver 2010 Reporter, covering the countdown to the Winter Olympics from just about every corner of the globe.
"Co-anchoring CTV News at Six in my hometown is truly a privilege, something I've dreamed of since before broadcasting school," said Killeen.
"I'm really excited to be anchoring with Tamara. Along with CTV's incredibly talented team of reporters, editors, camera operators and producers, we will deliver BC's best newscast every night."
The final new member of the CTV News at Six team will be announced in the coming days…
