Brandis Friedman

Brandis Friedman, who's been a part-time news anchor and reporter for all-news WBBM AM 780/WCFS FM 105.9 for two years, has been hired as a full-time correspondent for "Chicago Tonight," the flagship nightly news program on WTTW-Channel 11.

She replaces Ash-har Quraishi, who left the public television station in July to join the startup of Al Jazeera America as Chicago correspondent.

It's a return to television news for Friedman, who previously worked at WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C., KARK-TV in Little Rock, Ark., and KFDX-TV in Wichita Falls, Texas. She also served for nine months as deputy communications director for the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology.

“We are very pleased to welcome Brandis to WTTW, and to our editorial team,” executive producer Mary Field said in a statement announcing Friedman's hiring. “She is an experienced journalist who is interested in serious reporting, and we are looking forward to her bringing new, original stories to 'Chicago Tonight' on air and online."

Friedman, who joined Newsradio 780 as a per-diem employee in November 2011, will continue to report for "the next week or two," according to Ron Gleason, director of news and programming at the CBS Radio station. Her first day at WTTW will be October 21.

"I'm gonna miss WBBM Newsradio, but am excited to head to WTTW!!" she tweeted Thursday.

A native of Vicksburg, Miss., Friedman is a graduate of Dillard University in New Orleans and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism in New York.