News personnel changes at WTOL-TV

WTOL's Melissa Voetsch and Jonathan Walsh will co-anchor the morning 4:30 to 7 a.m. newscast.

WTOL-TV, Channel 11, is seeing changes in anchors for its morning, noon and weekend newscasts, and the CBS affiliate is also looking for a new news director.

Lauren Lowrey, a morning anchor and reporter, has accepted a position at the CBS-affiliate in Indianapolis. Melissa Voetsch will move to the morning anchor position and will continue to host the 9 to 10 a.m. Your Day program.

Weekend night news anchor Jonathan Walsh will move to the weekday noon newscast anchor desk, replacing Voetsch, and will co-anchor with Voetsch on the morning 4:30 to 7 a.m. newscast. Morning anchor Brad Harvey will leave WTOL when his contract expires in order to seek a position in a warmer climate. So he will slide to the weekend anchor desk and serve as an evening reporter until September.

Mike Stone, the station's weekend morning and part-time weekday morning meteorologist will leave the station effective Sunday. He and Channel 11 were unable to reach a contract agreement in March. Stone will be replaced by Kimberly Newman, a meterorologist and reporter from Macon, Ga., starting Tuesday.

The big behind-the-camera change is the resignation of news director Andi Roman, who cites family as the reason for her departure June 6.

"My son is already in high school and my other son enters junior high," Ms. Roman said. "It's time that I be able to spend more time with them."

Bob Chirdon, WTOL's general manager, said the station began a search for news director candidates Thursday. He said the station will make a hire "as soon as the right person surfaces and we can put a deal together."