Kaila Lafferty is joining KATV, Channel 7, as a reporter on Arkansas’ top-rated morning news show, “Daybreak.” And it didn’t hurt that TV news pioneer Edward R. Murrow’s name is on her resume.
Murrow’s name and image are on awards, plaques and even a sheet of postage stamps in the office of Lafferty’s new boss, Nick Genty. Genty, the ABC affiliate’s news director, announced Lafferty’s hiring on Monday.
“Kaila is a Washington State graduate from the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication,” Genty said. “While still in college she produced a regional Emmy-awarded newscast.”
Lafferty, who is coming to Little Rock from KLEW-TV in Lewiston, Idaho, will be joining Chris Kane, Alyson Courtney and Melinda Mayo on “Daybreak.”
A Seattle native, Lafferty “is a fantastic live presence and knows how to quickly gather information and present it in a way our viewers will understand,” Genty said.
The Little Rock move is somewhat natural since KLEW is a sister station to KATV in the Sinclair chain, but for skier and hiker from the Pacific Northwest, maybe not the most obvious destination. “Growing up in the Northwest I never imagined I would move to the South, but when I visited Little Rock I knew it was somewhere I wanted to be,” Lafferty said, describing Channel 7 as a station she’s honored and grateful to work for. “I was blown away by the hospitality and the kindness of the people, but also the beauty and history of the city.”
Her first day at KATV will be Feb. 5.