News director at Raleigh TV station retiring after 7 years. Here’s what he’ll do next
CBS 17’s news director is retiring from the station after seven years at the helm, the station announced in a news release.
Ed Trauschke, who has led the news operation for the CBS affiliate since 2017, will spend his last day at the station Friday, Dec. 20.
“The talented journalists at CBS 17 have learned from his experience and grown from his guidance but they aren’t the only ones who’ve benefited from his leadership and judgment,” CBS 17 vice president and general manager John Lewis said in the release. “The viewers watching CBS 17 in the Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville market have seen Ed’s vision of local news that matters.”
During his time as news director, Trauschke launched newscasts, such as programs at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
According to the press release, Trauschke will use his retirement to spend time with his family, including his grandchildren, and travel.
CBS 17’s assistant news director, Derek Rowles, will step into the news director position once Trauschke leaves, Marc Morriston, the station’s director of marketing and creative services, told The News & Observer in an email.
Ed Trauschke’s journalism career
Trauschke, who graduated from the University of Florida, began his journalism career in radio before transitioning into television, according to the news release.
He reported in Gainesville and Orlando and after a stint as managing editor at Raleigh’s WRAL-TV station, he returned to Florida to become assistant news director, and later news director, at WESH in Orlando.
Before taking the news director role at CBS 17, Trauschke led newsrooms in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Recent reporter changes at CBS 17
CBS 17’s staff has changed a few times this year.
Several journalists have left:
- In October, reporter Michael Hyland, who covered politics, left the station after nine years, moving to Georgia, where he became assistant news director for the television station WTOC in Savannah.
- Anchor/reporter Joseph Holloway left CBS 17 in July. He took a new job as co-anchor and executive producer of “Good Morning Iowa” at WOI-TV in Des Moines.
- Hayley Fixler, another anchor/reporter, left the station in August. She moved to get married and be closer to her family.
The station has also hired new staff this year:
- In January, Greg Funderburg joined as a weekend evening co-anchor and weekday reporter.
- Baron James became a weekend morning anchor and weekday reporter at CBS 17 in August.
- Mary Smith started as a new investigative reporter in August, coming from Atlanta.
