Toni Yates

Toni Yates (born November 1962) is an American news reporter and anchorwoman who currently works for WABC-TV as their New Jersey reporter.

Career

Yates—a graduate of Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville, and Florida State University—started her career in news in Savannah, Georgia, first at WTOC-TV and then at WSAV-TV.^[1] In 1986,^[2] she joined the staff of WTLV in Jacksonville as weekend anchor; she departed WTLV in 1987 when she got married and moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia.^[3] While in Virginia, she was the communications director for the local chapter of the March of Dimes. After three years in Virginia, she returned to Jacksonville in 1990 to be a weekend anchor at WJXT.^[2] She departed a year later in order to be closer to her husband, Arthur Fennell, then an anchor at WCAU-TV in Philadelphia.^[4]

After a year as a night news reporter for WGAL-TV in nearby Lancaster,^[5] she was hired as reporter for the startup Inquirer News Tonight newscast aired by WPHL-TV in Philadelphia.^[6] Yates also served as weekend anchor until 1995, when she was promoted to the weeknight newscasts.^[7] When WPHL-TV assumed control of the newscast at the end of 1996, it went to a single-anchor format and moved Yates back to weekends.^[8]

Yates and Fennell amicably divorced in 1998 after having two daughters.^[9] Yates later had a third child^[1] after marrying Philadelphia firefighter Chuck Harvey.^[10]

Yates worked for WPHL-TV until December 31, 2004, after which she exited when contract renewal talks failed.^[10] In July 2006, she was hired as New Jersey reporter for WABC-TV;^[11] she had been living in New Jersey since her time at WGAL.^[12]