NBC News is adding Kristen Welker to its correspondent ranks. Welker will be based out of Burbank, California.
She had been an anchor for NBC O&O station WCAU Philadelphia, and previously worked at local stations in Rhode Island and California.
“We are thrilled to add Kristen to our incredibly talented team of NBC News correspondents,” said Steve Capus, President of NBC News announcing the hire. “Kristen helped out in the Los Angeles bureau earlier this summer and her strong reporting experience greatly enhanced our west coast coverage.”
NBC first announced the news via Twitter, through its @NBCNewsPR account.
The release is after the jump.
NEW YORK – August 18, 2010 – Kristen Welker is joining NBC News as a network correspondent based in Burbank, California. The announcement was made today by NBC News President Steve Capus. Starting August 30, Welker will report for all platforms of NBC News, including “NBC Nightly News,” “Today,” MSNBC and msnbc.com.
“We are thrilled to add Kristen to our incredibly talented team of NBC News correspondents,” said Steve Capus, President of NBC News. “Kristen helped out in the Los Angeles bureau earlier this summer and her strong reporting experience greatly enhanced our west coast coverage.”
Welker joins NBC News from NBC’s Philadelphia owned and operated station, WCAU, where she anchored the NBC 10 weekend newscasts. Welker started at NBC 10 as a general assignment reporter in April 2005. Before her move to Philadelphia, Welker was a reporter and weekend morning anchor at WLNE-TV in Providence, Rhode Island. Prior to that, she worked as an anchor and reporter at KRCR-TV in Redding, California. Early in her career, Welker worked as a researcher on NBC’s “Weekend Today,” and as an assistant producer for CBS Newspath.
Welker, a native of Philadelphia, graduated from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts with a bachelor’s degree cum laude in American History. She also studied Spanish in Madrid on a Rotary Scholarship. In 2008, Welker was nominated for two Mid-Atlantic Emmy awards. She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists.