Bumped Up in the Burg

In a restructuring of its morning news presentation, Hearst-owned WTAE in Pittsburgh has announced that morning traffic reporter Elena LaQuatra will succeed retiring anchor Michelle Wright. Following Wright’s final broadcast on Feb. 27, the station will return to a two-anchor morning format with LaQuatra joining current anchor Janelle Hall and meteorologist Ashley Dougherty.

The transition triggers a broader realignment of the station's anchor assignments. Ryan Recker, who previously served on the morning team, will move to the evening block to anchor the 7 p.m. newscast on WTAE’s digital subchannel. While veteran anchor Mike Clark remains the primary lead for the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. broadcasts, Recker will contribute reports to other evening newscasts. This shift appears to be a strategic move by Hearst management to bolster Recker’s visibility with the evening audience as part of long-term succession planning for the station’s late-day time slots.

LaQuatra’s elevation to the anchor desk follows a ten-year trajectory within the industry and the Pittsburgh market. A 2014 graduate of Point Park University, she first joined the Hearst station in 2015 as a part-time digital content creator. After a period anchoring in Erie, Pennsylvania, she returned to WTAE as a general assignment reporter in 2018 and moved into the in-studio traffic role in 2021.