A South Florida news anchor who has delivered the evening news for more than three decades is stepping away from the desk, drawn not by corporate restructuring or industry turmoil, but by the pull of grandchildren she hasn’t met yet.
Liz Quirantes, 60, will anchor her final newscast at CBS12 in West Palm Beach on May 29, 2026, bringing to a close a 35-year tenure that made her what the station describes as “one of the defining voices” in its history.
Her departure, announced April 27, marks the end of an era for a station where she has anchored the 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. broadcasts, becoming a fixture in South Florida living rooms.
Grandchildren in Oklahoma Tip the Scale
Quirantes made clear her decision revolves around family geography. Both of her adult children have relocated to Oklahoma, making the prospect of becoming a grandmother a major factor in her decision.
“What really solidified my decision was when my children started talking about starting their own families. That’s kind of like, OK, they’re not coming back to Florida,” she said. “They’re in Oklahoma, and they’re doing very well, so mom and dad need to go there.”
She and her husband will move west after her final broadcast, leaving behind the state where she spent more than half her life.
A Career That Started by Accident
When Quirantes arrived at CBS12 in 1991 as a weekend reporter, she never imagined staying. Fresh from a cable news job in Miami, she kept her home there, certain she’d soon return to apply at a broadcast station in the larger market.
“I didn’t even sell our home in Miami because we intended to go back to Miami and I would apply to a broadcast station there,” she told CBS12.
She never left. Instead, she climbed from weekend reporter to anchor of four daily newscasts, covering hurricanes, the September 11 attacks, elections and tragedies that shaped a generation of viewers. Just one year into her tenure, Quirantes reported from Homestead in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in August 1992 — the first of many catastrophic storms she would document. Her work covering the 2018 Parkland school shooting and her on-the-ground reporting from the Bahamas following Hurricane Dorian’s devastation in 2019 each earned her a Suncoast Regional Emmy Award.
Exit Comes During Network Turmoil
While Quirantes’ retirement is personal, it unfolds against a backdrop of upheaval at CBS News. The network has endured wave after wave of departures and layoffs following the August 2025 merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media. Since Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss took over in October 2025, CBS News has undergone sweeping restructuring. CBS Evening News co-anchors Maurice DuBois and John Dickerson both exited in December 2025 during the overhaul, with former CBS Mornings host Tony Dokoupil replacing them. CBS Mornings host Gayle King accepted a substantial pay cut during contract negotiations.
Unlike many colleagues caught in the corporate squeeze, Quirantes emphasized her departure was not the result of a buyout or forced restructuring — it was her decision, driven by where her family is building their lives.
A Legacy Built on Trust
Quirantes said she wants viewers to remember her as “a devoted mom, a devoted wife, a good Christian, and an excellent journalist.”
The tributes have extended beyond social media. On May 4, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw walked into the CBS12 studio during a live newscast to personally honor Quirantes ahead of her final broadcast. “I’m gonna cry,” she said upon seeing him. Bradshaw praised her decades-long record of balanced reporting, saying she was someone he trusted in front of the camera. “She reports the news very balanced. Both sides, and people really respect that,” he said.
The announcement triggered an outpouring from longtime viewers on social media, with fans calling her “a true local legend” and lamenting that the broadcasts “won’t be the same without her.” Quirantes acknowledged the emotional weight of leaving a community she has served for more than three decades.
“It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to the viewers, to the staff, and to my life here. I’m going to miss this,” she said.
After May 29, the voice that South Florida has trusted for 35 years will trade four nightly newscasts for a quieter beat in Oklahoma — one with no 11 p.m. deadline, no hurricane tracking, and the promise of grandchildren who will never know their grandmother as the anchor she used to be. CBS12 has not announced who will fill the anchor desk she leaves behind.
