Pittsburgh Anchoring Quitting to....
/....Spend more time with her family.
After 20 years WPXI anchor Darieth Chisolm says she is leaving the station.
Ms. Chisolm, who joined the station in 1993 as an anchor and reporter, said she had been planning to do so for a long time.
"It's been a great opportunity to be here for the last 20 years but this is my son's last year before he goes off to college and I want to spend as much time with him as possible," Ms. Chisolm said of her son, Tre Tarpley.
This will also go down as the first time in history that a high school senior boy will be spending more time with his mother.
Chisolm has been anchoring the 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts in WPXI as well as the 10 p.m. on Fox.
"It's going to be tough, leaving these guys," she said.
She said she also plans to concentrate on business interests.
Ms. Chisolm owns a gym in Brentwood, Fullbody Fitness Club, and is an independent contractor for a national weight-loss program, It Works.
The latter promotes toning with use of a body wrap.
"I'm quite excited about this," she said. "I've really work to expand this business and I'm thankful they've been doing well."
She didn't rule out returning to the news someday -- Ms. Chisolm took a four-year break from 2000-2004 -- "but I don't plan on returning full-time, that's for sure. I'll also be doing some speaking [after leaving WPXI]."
This is the second time in two months a WPXI anchor has left on short notice. Morning anchor Jennifer Abney made a sudden departure in June and has been replaced by Katherine Amenta.
"Darieth's a remarkable talent who has been key to our success at 11 p.m.," WPXI news director Mike Oliveira said. "We are going to miss her, but we wish her the best going forward."
