Tanya Black has been named VP and news director of WJZ Baltimore. She’s been the WJZ director of community impact since January 2022. She starts in the new role immediately.
Before the community impact role, Black spent 22 years as managing editor of WJZ’s news department. Before that, she was an assignment editor, then was promoted to assignment manager before being named managing editor.
WJZ is owned by CBS.
As director of community impact, Black has been responsible for ensuring that WJZ, known as CBS News Baltimore, content benefits the communities served by the stations and affects changes that make the market’s neighborhoods better places to live. She has also been responsible for cultivating and strengthening the station’s relationships with community groups.
“Being able to promote someone like Tanya, a consummate professional who for more than three decades has represented everything that’s great about WJZ-TV, is one of the happiest moments in my career,” said Kathy Hostetter, president and general manager of WJZ. “She has an incredible connection with her newsroom colleagues and people from all walks of life here in the town where she was born and raised. We are thrilled for her success and excited to have her leading our newsroom.”
Black earned her bachelor’s degree in English and journalism at the University of Maryland. She has spent more than 30 years at WJZ.
“I am thrilled for this opportunity to lead our newsroom and continue to be part of one of the best teams in the business,” Black said. “I am grateful that (CBS News and Stations president and co-head) Wendy McMahon and Adrienne Roark created a community impact management role here in Baltimore. And it’s also wonderful how Kathy has been so supportive from the day she walked in the door. The last two years have been the most fulfilling and exciting time in all of my years at the station. I am beyond excited to see what’s next.”
Black succeeds Gail Bending in running the WJZ newsroom.
“It is wonderful to see Tanya get this well-deserved promotion and continue her career in the same newsroom where she got her start,” said Adrienne Roark, president of CBS Stations. “She’s a proven leader when it comes to covering big stories such as the pandemic, presidential inaugurations and, most recently, last week when she oversaw the station’s community town hall addressing the local rise in youth violence.”
