A Central Texas anchor who left her station in August isn’t leaving the community after all. She’s just changing channels.
Jasmin Caldwell, formerly of KCEN 6, has joined rival KWTX-TV as an anchor and reporter. The move puts her at the Waco-based CBS affiliate just weeks after her sudden departure from KCEN. Both stations serve viewers across Central Texas, including Waco, Temple and Killeen, which means the audience she has spent years reporting to will still be seeing her on their screens.
Caldwell announced the move on social media Sept. 2. She wrote that after nearly a decade of covering Central Texas, she was grateful to keep telling stories in a community that has become home.
“Central Texas, I’m not going anywhere! I’m just changing the channel,” Caldwell wrote. “See you on KWTX News 10!”
Tuesday marked Caldwell’s first day at KWTX. Her new colleagues quickly welcomed a familiar face from across town, taking to social media themselves to mark her arrival.
Westbrook and Vaughn Welcome Caldwell to KWTX
“You know her face in Central Texas and I am especially excited about all of her experience she’s bringing to KWTX News 10,” anchor Lauren Westbrook wrote. “Jasmin is a kind soul and is entrenched in the Bell County community.”
Chief photographer Bradley Vaughn also celebrated the addition. “Many in the community already know her and I’m excited to have her on our team now,” he wrote.
The warm reception reflects what KWTX gains in Caldwell. She arrives with deep local roots and a nine-year history in the market. As Westbrook and Vaughn both noted, her face is already familiar to the community the station serves.
Caldwell’s new role at KWTX pairs her anchoring duties with reporting. Her colleagues have highlighted the experience she brings to the newsroom.
Nine Years at KCEN and the Texas Today Morning Newscast
Caldwell left KCEN and its Texas Today morning newscast in August. She had spent nine years with the station, joining in 2017 as a weekday reporter before moving up to weekend evening anchor and eventually becoming part of the morning anchor lineup. That progression took her from field reporting to a regular seat on the station’s morning show.
Her exit came with little indication of what was next. But Caldwell made one thing clear when announcing her departure: she wasn’t leaving Central Texas.
“I’m not moving,” Caldwell told viewers. “So you will still see me around.”
That promise now has a concrete answer. The move to KWTX keeps her in the same region, covering the same communities she has reported on for nearly a decade.
The timing of her departure from KCEN and her arrival at KWTX was tight. She left in August, announced her new station Sept. 2 and started at the rival station within weeks.
The 2022 All-Black Anchor Team at KCEN
Caldwell also made television history during her time at KCEN. In 2022, she anchored alongside Taheshah Moise and Ashley Carter as part of what the station described as the nation’s first all-Black, all-women news anchor team.
The trio’s regular anchor lineup was a notable milestone for the station. Caldwell’s role in that team added to her profile in the market and to her standing with Central Texas viewers.
The historic team was part of KCEN’s programming. It also underscored the kind of experience she now brings to KWTX.
From WCAV to Nebraska-Lincoln
Caldwell’s path to Central Texas ran through Virginia and Nebraska. She worked as a reporter at WCAV in Charlottesville, Va., before coming to Texas.
The Omaha, Neb., native graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in broadcast journalism.
Her resume spans reporting, weekend anchoring and morning news. That range of experience is part of what her new colleagues have highlighted since her arrival.
Before joining KCEN in 2017, Caldwell built her early career in Virginia. Her time at WCAV gave her reporting experience before she moved to the Central Texas region, where she has remained ever since.
What the Move Means for Central Texas Viewers
For viewers in Waco, Temple and Killeen, the change is simple: Caldwell’s face moves from one channel to another. The coverage area stays the same, and so do the communities she covers.
KWTX gains an anchor with established name recognition in the market. KCEN loses a familiar presence on its morning newscast. For the region as a whole, though, nothing about Caldwell’s presence changes except the channel number.
Caldwell’s own message to viewers was direct. She is staying put, just on a different station. It is the same assurance she gave when she left KCEN in August: she wasn’t moving, and viewers would still see her around.
Caldwell’s career has followed a clear path through three stations. The sequence of her moves shows how she built her way to the Central Texas market:
- WCAV in Charlottesville, Va., where she worked as a reporter before coming to Texas.
- KCEN 6, where she joined in 2017 as a weekday reporter, later became weekend evening anchor, and eventually joined the morning anchor lineup.
- KWTX-TV, where she started Tuesday as an anchor and reporter.
The move is a reminder that in local television, the talent often stays even when the logo changes. Caldwell has spent nearly a decade building trust with Central Texas viewers, and that relationship now continues on a new channel.
“See you on KWTX News 10!” she wrote.
That is exactly where she will be.
Source: chron.com
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