After Almost Three Decades Away, Dr. Johnette Magner Celebrates Two Years Back at KTBS-TV3
By Sarah Vammen

Inside our homes every weeknight, Dr. Johnette Magner delivers the news of the day as the co-anchor of the KTBS-TV3 evening news at 5 and 6 p.m. She became the co-anchor of the evening news in 2022, but this was not her first job at KTBS.

“The first time I was at KTBS, I had an infant,” Johnette said. “He is now 30 years old, so that tells you how long I was gone before I came back.”

Johnette’s first stint at KTBS was as a consumer reporter—a relatively straightforward position at the time. “We had photographers who shot and edited the stories, and since there was no internet, we did not write stories for a website,” she said.

Now, as co-anchor of the evening news, Johnette wears many more hats. “Today, we are called ‘multimedia journalists’ because we create stories for several platforms, not just TV,” she said. “I’ve shot my own stories and stand-ups, edited the video and audio, done voiceovers, and created graphics, in addition to doing the writing and reporting I’d done in the past.”

Johnette’s roots in the Ark-La-Tex stretch far deeper than her two roles at KTBS. Johnette grew up with her brother and sister on a country road in Texarkana. “Today, that land is home to Texas A&M–Texarkana,” she said. “The magnolia tree that my mother planted next to our house is still there.” Johnette attended Pleasant Grove Elementary and Middle Schools, and then Texas High School. Her father, Buddy Hawkins, and stepmother, Judge Sherry Hawkins, still reside in Texarkana.

When Johnette attended The University of Texas at Austin, majoring in broadcast journalism wasn’t her original intention. “I started at UT majoring in accounting, while my roommate was majoring in broadcast journalism,” she said. “I remember thinking I wished I had chosen her major and realized it was not too late to switch.”

Journalism was a natural fit for Johnette. “I watched the news every day when I was growing up,” she said. “I’m fascinated by the world and love figuring out how things work or getting to the bottom of a topic.”

After her first role at KTBS, Johnette chose to leave the world of television to take care of her two sons, Scott and Clark. She went on to earn a master’s degree in liberal arts from LSU–Shreveport before launching her teaching career at Bossier Parish Community College.

“I realized being a professor was a great job for a mom because I could work while my kids were in school and have the summer off when they did,” she explained.

Johnette furthered her career by pursuing her PhD in mass communication at University of Maryland, College Park. She taught at LSU–Shreveport before relocating to Washington, D.C., where she served as the vice president of public affairs at two PR firms.

In 2010, Johnette returned to Shreveport. Over the next decade, she worked as a publisher for SB Magazine, the vice chancellor of development at LSUS, the executive director of the Shreveport-Bossier Business Alliance for Higher Education, the executive director of the Citizens for a Better Caddo, a faculty member in Centenary College’s Frost School of Business, the director of Centenary’s Center for Family-Owned Business, the executive director of external affairs at Louisiana Tech, and an assistant faculty member at Louisiana Tech. In this last position, fate intervened and set her on a path back to where she began.

“I asked George Sirven, the KTBS general manager, if he would speak to one of my classes via Zoom about changes in the media economy,” she said. “Afterward, he asked if I would call. Much to my surprise, he asked if I wanted to talk about returning to KTBS as a prime-time anchor.” This was Johnette’s dream job, in the community for which she cared so deeply. She auditioned and signed a contract just one week later.

Johnette’s homecoming has meant reconnecting with her childhood memories. “So much has changed, like A&M–Texarkana now being where my house was, but there are things that have stayed the same,” she said. “I love driving around Texarkana, seeing the new developments downtown, but also seeing the buildings where my mom used to take me shopping.”

Johnette enjoys being a voice for the Ark-La-Tex and sharing in the community’s highs and lows. “Being a reporter and anchor again has allowed me to focus on topics that I hope will move the needle, such as the five-part series I did last year on truancy, or overcrowding at the Caddo Correctional Center,” she said. “KTBS has been a leading voice in our region for 70 years, and I hope I’m continuing that tradition by developing stories that help make our community better.”

Whether you “met” her on your television in the early ‘90s or just in the last two years, Dr. Johnette Magner has earned her place in your living room. After all, the Ark-La-Tex is her home, too.

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