KBTX is proud to announce that beginning Sept. 1, award- winning journalist Kathleen Ninke will join the Brazos Valley This Morning team, co-anchoring the Brazos Valley’s most watched local morning news program with her husband, Josh Ninke.
“It seems like life moves at a faster pace these days. More than ever, experience and local knowledge matter as we each plan our day,” says KBTX General Manager Lori Bruffett. “Kathleen and Josh are such a fixture in this community and we know, along with Max and Fallon, they’ll get the Brazos Valley ready for their day with a smile.”
For the past five years, the Brazos Valley has gotten to know Kathleen by her maiden name, Kathleen Witte, as she anchored First News at Four and News 3 at Six weekdays on KBTX. Kathleen and Josh met at KBTX in 2017 and the couple tied the knot this past Leap Day, Feb. 29.
Kathleen Ninke joined the KBTX team in 2015 and has covered the Brazos Valley’s most important stories here at home, in the halls of the U.S. Capitol, and on the coast of Texas following Hurricane Harvey. She has been consistently recognized by the Texas AP Broadcasters for her anchoring and reporting. Each month, she’s proud to profile local children in need of adoption for KBTX’s Wednesday’s Child. More importantly, Kathleen is deeply committed to the Brazos Valley beyond her role at KBTX. She was honored by the Girl Scouts of Central Texas as a 2017 Woman of Distinction for her community involvement. Kathleen serves on the Executive Advisory Board at the Salvation Army of Bryan College Station and serves regularly as a volunteer for numerous local nonprofits.
Josh Ninke joined the Brazos Valley This Morning Team in 2017. An accomplished political reporter, Josh honed his reporting skills covering Alabama politics in Montgomery before moving to KBTX. He continues to use that knowledge to highlight the intersection of Brazos Valley issues and national politics in regular interviews with congressmen and local political leaders on BVTM. Josh is an accomplished cellist and member of the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra. He also serves as director of the hand bell choir at Bethel Lutheran Church
Alongside Kathleen and Josh, Max Crawford and Fallon Appleton will continue to round out the Brazos Valley This Morning team.
Max Crawford also joined the KBTX team in 2015. A graduate of Texas A&M University, he interned at KBTX under chief meteorologist Shel Winkley before joining the weather team at KWES in Midland- Odessa. Since returning to the Brazos Valley, Max and his wife have become an active part of the community. Max currently serves on the United Way of the Brazos Valley board of directors and recently was honored as a Texas A&M Fish Camp namesake.
Fallon Appleton has been part of the BVTM team since 2019. In addition to covering breaking news, her live reports offer a consistent look at what’s next in the Brazos Valley. Fallon earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas A&M and got her start in television working with Texas A&M Athletics’ 12th Man Productions and CBS Sports. Outside of work, she currently serves on the Community Foundation’s Brazos Valley Gives committee.
Karla Castillo will remain on News 3’s Live at Five and News 3 at Ten, but will also join Rusty Surette on News 3 at Six. Erika Fernandez will helm KBTX’s signature newsmagazine program, First News at Four.
KBTX is the Brazos Valley’s largest broadcast and digital news provider, proudly serving the area since 1957. It remains the area’s only full-power, locally staffed television station and is committed to providing experienced, fully local broadcast news coverage each day. The station provides more than 26 hours of local news each week and maintains 24/7 news outlets in www.KBTX.com and the KBTX app, available on your phone and favorite streaming device.
In 2019, the Texas Association of Broadcasters recognized KBTX for exceptional public service with its Bonner McLane Public Service Award. Each year, KBTX donates more than a million dollars in advertising and sponsorships to dozens of community partners, along with organizing annual community service projects including the Food for Families Food Drive benefiting the Brazos Valley Food Bank and the Jefferson Awards for Public Service.
KBTX is available on antenna channel 3.1, Suddenlink channel 5, Dish Network channel 50, DirecTV channel 3, and streaming on Roku, YouTubeTV, Hulu, Amazon Fire TV, CBS All Access, DirecTV Now, AT&T TV Now, Sling, FuboTV, SBTV, and Apple TV.
