Tegna Again Tries Anchor Shortcut to Success
/Hall of Fame LPGA golfer Annika Sorenstam once told me that there are no shortcuts to success.
It is some of the most honest advice that has ever been shared with me.
Not only does that apply to sports, but it applies to life as well.
Yesterday, in a Patron Only story, FTVLive told you that Tegna’s KHOU (Houston) had brought in for KPRC Traffic Anchor Jennifer Reyna for an on-set audition.
Reyna left Graham-owned KPRC a couple of years ago after the two sides could not agree on a new contract. Word is that Reyna wanted to do more news anchoring and less traffic (isn’t that the case with almost all Traffic Anchors?).
BTW- Reyna’s KPRC Traffic IG is still on Instagram
Sources at KPRC said that while Reyna was solid when it came to her traffic duties when she filled in news anchoring, she clearly was not ready for a market the size of Houston.
It was thought by some that when Reyna left KPRC back in 2019 that the station’s morning ratings would tank because she was so popular. That didn’t happen and some would say that KPRC is even stronger today than is was in 2019.
Sources tell FTVLive that Tegna’s KHOU is this/close to hiring Reyna. It will be interesting if they do hire her if it will include news anchoring as part of the job.
Reyna, who appears to love posting selfies, has a large following on social media and at least one Tegna insider thinks that is why the company is interested in hiring her.
“Patti Dennis and Ellen Crooke are definitely behind this. I can name a dozen people they've hired over the years who have lots of followers on FB and IG but little to no actual journalism credentials. Tenga corporate still thinks someone who posts bikini pics on social media will bring viewers to TV. They try to take shortcuts to success. I can't think of one time it's worked,” said the insider to FTVLive.
And, just like Annike said, there are no shortcuts to success. But, apparently, Tegna is still going to try and find one.
Stay tuned…
The video of Reyna trying out at KHOU was spotted on the Tegna internal video server. Screenshot below.