About

Talia Kirkland is a reporter for WPXI in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Kirkland joined the WPXI team in January 2022 and quickly went to work, covering some of the most impactful news stories of this region. Within her first month on the job, the Fern Hollow bridge which connects Pittsburgh's Regent Square and Squirrel Hill neighborhoods collapsed. Kirkland, a Pittsburgh native provided live updates from the site of the collapse speaking with neighbors and public officials.

During her time with WPXI, she has worked tirelessly to elevate the stories and issues of Black and brown communities through an ongoing series, Pittsburgh Gets Real, where she highlights important issues in the community – from racism to housing and healthcare inequities to police reform, giving a voice to marginalized voices in the region.

Kirkland has also dedicated her time to taking an in-depth look at crime, speaking with the families of victims, highlighting the community organizations working to combat the growing violent crime rates, and holding public officials accountable.

Before traveling back home, Kirkland worked in Harrisburg, PA covering everything politics, including one of the most tumultuous elections this generation has ever seen all amid a global pandemic. While working in the capital city she also launched, Project Education, where she hosted weekly round table conversations with stakeholders on the 2021 return to the classroom. And in 2021, Kirkland was awarded first place in media by the Pennsylvania Bar Association for her investigative reporting highlighting a no-knock warrant.

Kirkland has also worked as a multimedia reporter for Fox News Channel. Nationally, Kirkland has covered the Bill Cosby trial and the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. She has traveled across the country, from neighboring Ohio to cover the General Motors plant closure in Lordstown, to Florida to cover Hurricane Dorian, and Iowa to aid team coverage in the search to find the missing Iowa University student Mollie Tibbets. Kirkland began working in TV news in Clarksburg, West Virginia, at WDTV after leaving her career in marketing. A Pittsburgh native, she graduated from Duquesne University, where she earned an undergraduate degree in Journalism and a Master’s of Science in Media Technology and Arts.

Kirkland is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and the National Association of Black Journalists. Kirkland enjoys serving as a mentor to college students studying broadcast journalism at local universities.

Harrisburg Mayoral Race 2021: Community member weigh-in

Harrisburg — With the May 18 primary election around the corner Harrisburg residents have a large field of eye-catching candidates to choose from, as five Democrats and one Republican have secured their names on the ballot. CBS21’s Talia Kirkland spoke with community members who shared name recognition alone won’t seal a vote for a candidate; instead, residents are looking for a mayor who will tackle the tough issues.
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Addicted in PA | How the COVID-19 pandemic caused a crisis within a crisis

In 2017, overdose deaths ravished the Commonwealth, and in 2018 Pennsylvania became the sixth state in the country to declare a statewide emergency for the opioid epidemic. Now silently brewing amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, Pennsylvania is again on the verge of another crisis.
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CBS21 Investigates no warrant-entry: Woman says police entered apartment while sleeping

Harrisburg, PA — Shakira Brown is still fearful. “Let’s switch roles, let me be you, and you be me just for that night, “Brown said as she re-watched her surveillance video. Brown, a Susquehanna Township woman, says police entered her apartment on the night of June 11 while she was asleep, without a warrant, and with their guns drawn. The single mother of an autistic three-year-old was asleep with her toddler when she said she heard a noise in her hallway, “I was in my bed, and I was sleep,” Brown said. “I heard noises in my hallway, and then lights flashing.”
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