Audrina Bigos, a reporter and weekend news anchor from Charlotte, North Carolina, is joining CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2 as a general assignment reporter, starting August 24.
Since 2011 Bigos has been at WCCB-TV, the CW affiliate in Charlotte. A 2010 graduate of the University of South Florida, she previously worked at WUSF-TV, the PBS station in Tampa.
“I am thrilled to welcome Audrina to our news team,” Jeff Kiernan, vice president and news director at CBS 2, said in a statement Friday. “She is a talented reporter, who can work on multiple platforms to help tell original stories of what’s happening in and around Chicago.”
In North Carolina, Bigos launched “SMART Girls,” a self-esteem project at the Charlotte Boys & Girls Club. “Chicago is a reporter’s dream city and I’m happy that CBS 2 has chosen me to help tell the stories that matter,” she was quoted as saying. “I also look forward to becoming a part of this dynamic and diverse community and continuing my advocacy for girls.”
CBS 2 has had three news staff openings since February when Pamela Jones was not renewed after 10 years as a reporter. That same month Kris Gutierrez packed it in as morning news anchor to join KXAS-TV, the NBC-owned station in Dallas. And in April reporter Chris Martinez left to become a Los Angeles-based correspondent for CBS Newspath.
Still no word on a replacement for Gutierrez alongside Erin Kennedy from 4:30 to 7 a.m. weekdays. “Our search for a morning anchor is ongoing,” a CBS 2 spokeswoman said.