Beloved California TV anchor reveals sudden departure from network: Filled with thrill and grief

A popular California television anchor is departing the Golden State.KCRA 3’s Erin Heft is leaving Sacramento for her “dream position” at a “legendary newsroom” in Dallas.Heft, who won an Emmy for her and her newsroom’s reporting on a Sacramento shooting in 2023, suggested the decision is bittersweet.“I’m filled with thrill and grief,” Heft told the Sacramento Bee Thursday.“Thrilled because I can’t wait to go, but grief because it’s the closure of the chapter of Northern California, and I really do just adore it here.”She first joined KCRA as an intern in 2018, an opportunity she called a “privilege” to get.“When I got the internship, it was such a privilege,” Heft said.

“It was actually the first newsroom —professional working newsroom — that I ever spent any time in, and I was just in awe of the talent that was within the room.”Then she moved to Waco, Texas, to work for the E.W.Scripps Co.

as a reporter and fill-in anchor for three years.But she always kept KCRA in mind, saying her “goal was to make it immediately back to KCRA.”Heft re-joined the Sacramento news agency in 2021 and has been a reporter and anchor there since.

She called Northern California a “wonderland of a news market, because there’s a little bit of everything always happening.”She also thanked the community for welcoming her there, and acknowledged that a “piece” of her will always stay in the area.“This region has challenged me, shaped me, and changed me in ways I never could have imagined.Some of the most meaningful moments of my life happened right here, alongside an incredible newsroom and an unforgettable community,” she said.“While it’s time for a new adventure, a piece of me will always remain with you.”It’s not clear what her next role will be, but she told The Bee that it will be in the Dallas-Fort Worth market and closer to her family.She said serving Northern California has been the “privilege of a lifetime.”�...