PITTSBURGH, PA — Ever since Michelle Wright announced in December that she would be retiring from her job as WTAE-TV’s morning anchor role in February, there has been significant speculation as to who would replace her.
WTAE ended the speculation on Wednesday, announcing that morning traffic reporter and noon newscast anchor Elena LaQuatra will succeed Wright, who will leave her morning anchor role at the end of next week.
According to her biography on the WTAE website, LaQuatra, 34, joined the station in 2015 as a digital content creator. After a reporting and anchoring stint at a television station in Erie, LaQuatra returned to WTAE to a general assignment reporting role in 2018.
At the age of LaQuatra lost 100 percent her hearing in both ears to bacterial meningitis. After receiving a cochlear implant, she spent years rehabilitating her listening and spoken language skills,
A former Miss Pennsylvania pageant winner in 2016, LaQuatra is a Point Park University graduate.