KHOU 11 adds reporter after Circle City Broadcasting layoffs

Jessica Gruenling began work at KHOU 11 in Houston on Nov. 2, filling a reporting vacancy left by recent staffing changes. She appeared on air during election night coverage the following day, marking her immediate integration into the station's news team.

Tim Geraghty, the station's news director, described Gruenling as an asset with the range to handle both breaking news and community stories. He noted that the newsroom is pleased to have her coverage capabilities available for daily assignments.

Her arrival in Texas follows the departure of Maria Aguilera, who left the CBS affiliate on Sept. 18 after nearly four years with the station. Aguilera, a Houston native, had joined KHOU in October 2022.

Gruenling returns to the state where she worked from February 2017 to May 2021. During that period, she spent more than four years covering news and sports for KBTX 3 in Bryan-College Station.

She moved to Indianapolis in June 2023 to work as a reporter and multimedia journalist for WRTV 6. Her tenure ended in March when Circle City Broadcasting acquired the station. The new owner, which also controls WISH-TV, laid off much of the existing staff shortly after the sale.

Gruenling wrote in an April social media post that the entire staff was let go the day after the station sold. She described the sudden loss of her job and colleagues as the toughest experience of her career, though she expressed gratitude for nearly three years in Indianapolis. She recalled covering Game 7 of the NBA Finals and attending her first Indianapolis 500 during that time.

Prior to Indianapolis, Gruenling worked as a morning reporter for KRDO's Good Morning Colorado in Colorado Springs from June 2021 to August 2023. She started her television career in Anchorage from 2014 to 2017 with Coastal Television Broadcasting. A Philadelphia native, she graduated from Temple University in 2013 with a degree in broadcasting, telecommunications and mass media.