Cassady Velasco, the assistant news director at KSBW-TV, Hearst Television’s market-leading NBC affiliate serving the Monterey-Salinas TV market on California’s Central Coast, has been named news director effective. Velasco spent the majority of her career within Hearst Television at KSBW-TV.“Cassady is the ideal successor to build upon the very solid foundation of our company,” said Laura Williamson, president and general manager at KSBW-TV. “She is an Emmy Award winning executive with nearly twenty years of broadcast news experience. Her exceptional work within KSBW, her local knowledge, and the expertise she has exhibited throughout her career position her well for this leadership position on our Central Coast.”Velasco began her television journalism career as the 5 p.m. news producer at KSBW in 1999. After leaving to work as the Executive Administrative Assistant for former KSBW Action News 8 Anchor Dina Ruiz, she returned to KSBW in 2008 as the 6 p.m. news producer, a position she held for nine years. During that time, she earned an Emmy Award for breaking news coverage of the Soberanes Wildfire in Big Sur. In 2017 Velasco was promoted to Managing Editor and in 2021 to Assistant News Director. “I have been very fortunate to have grown my career at KSBW and within Hearst Television,” said Velasco. “I look forward to continuing to work with our exceptional news team and building on KSBW’s great legacy of service to our Central Coast.”Velasco will make the transition to News Director in June.ABOUT KSBWKSBW is the California Central Coast’s broadcast/digital media leader, providing news, weather, sports, community service and entertainment on multiple platforms including KSBW 8 NBC, Central Coast ABC, Estrella TV Costa Central, KSBW.com, and the KSBW mobile app. Founded in 1953, KSBW is committed to its mission to serve the Salinas-Monterey-Santa Cruz region with quality local content. The station has been honored with numerous prestigious broadcasting honors including regional RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Awards for “Best Newscast” and regional Emmy’s, and Associated Press Awards for “Breaking News Coverage.” KSBW is owned by Hearst Television, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearst, a leading media company whose global holdings include 33 television stations. Follow us on Facebook (ksbw8), Twitter (@ksbw), and Instagram (ksbw_8).About Hearst Television Hearst Television owns and operates 33 television and two radio stations serving 26 media markets across 39 states reaching over 22 million U.S. television households. Through its partnership with nearly all major networks, Hearst Television distributes national content over more than 120 video channels including programming from ABC, NBC, CBS, CW, MY Net, MeTV, Estrella and more. The radio stations are leaders in Baltimore news/talk and rock music listenership. Its Hearst Media Production Group unit produces original programming across linear and streaming platforms for domestic and international distribution. Its Very Local app, free to download on household OTT devices and available across popular streaming services, offers 24/7 access to local news, weather and an array of local and regional programming. Hearst Television is recognized as one of the industry's premier companies and has been honored with numerous awards for distinguished journalism, industry innovation, and community service. Hearst Television is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearst.Contact for KSBW: Ed Everest, Creative Services Director (831) 758-7724 eeverest@hearst.com