Anchor Israel Balderas leaves WCCB

Israel Balderas, evening anchor at WCCB (Channel 18), parted ways with the station Monday.

Balderas, who anchored the 10 p.m. newscast with Morgan Fogarty, left before his contract was due to expire late this year. He could not immediately be reached for comment.

Balderas joined WCCB in 2010 on the station’s morning show, then was named 10 p.m. anchor in 2011 when longtime co-host Brien Blakely left the station in 2011. Balderas, a key figure during the station’s coverage of the Democratic National Convention, worked for Fox News Channel while getting his law degree at Catholic University in Washington.

Balderas was named TV news anchor of the year in November by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas.

His departure follows that of veteran sports director Bruce Snyder and news director Ken White in the last six months. In January, WCCB was told by Fox that it was losing its affiliation with the network after the network bought rival WJZY (Channel 46). WCCB recently announced it would affiliate with the CW network beginning July 1.