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.