CBS Austin confirmed to Chron that it is making changes to CBS Austin This Morning, which debuts a refreshed format on Sept. 14. While the station declined to identify the employees affected, Houston media blogger Mike McGuff reported that the two positions being eliminated are weekday morning anchor John-Carlos Estrada and traffic anchor Jenna Wilson.
“Beginning September 14, CBS Austin will debut a refreshed format for ‘CBS Austin This Morning,’ designed to better serve our audience while continuing to deliver the local journalism and community coverage our viewers expect,” News Director Erin Garza said in a statement to Chron.
Garza said the transition includes “the difficult decision to eliminate two positions” and thanked the affected employees “for their contributions to the newscast.”
Estrada joined CBS Austin in August 2019 as co-anchor of CBS Austin This Morning. A veteran journalist with nearly two decades of experience, he previously worked in television news in Texas and Florida after beginning his career as a network producer in New York and Washington, D.C.
His reporting has earned honors from the GLAAD Media Awards, Telly Awards, Lone Star Emmy Awards and the Texas Association of Broadcasters, among others. Outside the newsroom, Estrada is also an award-winning filmmaker and is writing a biography of Texas entertainer Barbette that is scheduled for publication in 2027.
Wilson joined CBS Austin in August 2025 as the station’s traffic anchor after spending more than three years reporting in Missouri.
A University of Kansas graduate, she previously covered safety for KNPN in St. Joseph, where he reporting on dangerous intersections and homelessness earned 2025 Missouri Broadcast Awards. She said she was excited to return to her home state of Texas and continue covering stories that affect the community.
McGuff also reported that reporter Farrah Walton is leaving CBS Austin, though a source told him her departure is unrelated to the morning show overhaul.
Walton joined CBS Austin as a reporter in May 2024 after working at KTXS in Abilene, where she advanced from weekend anchor and reporter to weeknight evening anchor. Her coverage of the Matador tornado received a nomination at the 2023 Texas Broadcast News Awards.