[tv] Houston Hottie News Anchor quits

I love this...she's looking forward to a less-public life. Why is she doing more interviews in the Chronicle then???

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4481532.html

Move from the spotlight was easy for Lisa Foronda
The former Channel 11 anchor is looking forward to a less-public life

By CLIFFORD PUGH
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle


Though casually dressed in Gap jeans, a University of Florida T-shirt and only a touch of makeup, Lisa Foronda still turns heads when she walks into a restaurant.

"Aren't you a movie star?" one man asks after spotting her at Cafe Express on West Gray. No, she patiently explains. She used to co-anchor the Channel 11 news, but she recently quit to try something new.

In the ego-driven world of TV news, abandoning the spotlight while still in your prime rarely happens. So it was a shock when the 37-year-old newscaster walked away from her high-profile job last month.

She has heard many of the rumors over the abrupt end to her broadcasting career, including a rift with management (false), an affair with a co-worker (false) and a change in sexual orientation (false). "The most outrageous (rumor) is that I'm a kept woman and that my sugar daddy doesn't want me working," she said with a laugh.

She has a boyfriend close to her age, but even if he were richer than Bill Gates, which he isn't, she would never depend on a man for financial survival.

"I've never had a man take care of me and I don't ever want one to take care of me," she said. "Everything I've bought, I've done on my own. My mama taught me to save."

She maintains the real story of her departure is not nearly as sexy: She was simply tired of the spotlight and craved a life out of the public eye.

"It's a career change. People do it all the time," she explained. "I just happen to be doing it in front of a bunch of people."

A 1991 University of Florida graduate with a degree in telecommunication, she worked as a weekend anchor and reporter in San Angelo, Fort Myers and Tampa, before moving to Houston in 1997 as a "secondary anchor" for the KHOU noon and 6 p.m. broadcasts.

She says she had no aspirations for the top job, but after anchor Marlene McClinton unexpectedly quit on the air at the end of a late afternoon newscast in 1999, Foronda received an "instant promotion" when the news director called her in and said, "You're doing the 10 o'clock news."

Foronda admits she was woefully inexperienced and credits co-anchor Greg Hurst, a veteran newscaster, for teaching her the ropes. "The key to doing this job is preparation," Hurst said. "Lisa learned that well."

At first detractors sniffed that the attractive duo resembled Ken and Barbie. But they won over audiences with an easygoing camaraderie and an emphasis on news over happy talk. When their newscasts jumped to the top of the ratings, the Houston Press credited the "Foronda factor."

Although she appeared unruffled on the air, she said she was never comfortable in the job. She describes herself as an introvert in a job that demands attention.

"You get sick of working holidays and being on call, but what really grinded on me was that everybody knows your business," she said. "I just got tired of belonging to everybody."

While the pay is good — a top anchor in the Houston market can make $250,000 or more, according to industry sources — anchors are rarely home on weeknights; weekends are filled with personal appearances. Such hours are tough on relationships. Foronda has been divorced twice, most recently this past February, although she doesn't blame her job for her breakups.

Her advancing age in a medium that craves youth also figured into her deliberations. In the Houston TV market, like many others, female anchors are often pushed out as they get older while male anchors continue until they collect Social Security or die — whichever comes first.

"I figured I had about eight more years, until I turned 45," Foronda said, "But I didn't want to be at the point where I was about to get the boot."

Known as the "news babe" on some Internet chat lines, the constant focus on her appearance grated on her.

"I don't want to be criticized for the fact that my hair is out of place or someone didn't like my hair color or, God forbid, I touched (sports anchor) Giff Nielsen on the arm during a newscast," she said, referring to criticism she has received from viewers.

She realizes that much of the attention is well-intentioned. "I can understand it. People get familiar with you (from watching TV) and they think they know you. I never was quite able to reconcile that. You become a celebrity on such a minor scale. It's so dumb how we idolize people."

About a year ago, she started planning an "exit strategy," with a goal of changing jobs by the beginning of 2007. She consulted with a good friend, Vern Swisher, the CEO of Career and Recovery Resources. They discussed ways she could aim for a job that would make good use of her television skills and her desire to help the community.

She came up with a plan to stash away at least three months of savings to tide her over if her job hunt stalled. Then she compiled a list of her skills, set career goals, updated her résumé and discreetly began networking to see what jobs were out there.

Last week, she began a job as senior community relations program manager at CenterPoint Energy, where she will serve as a liaison between the corporation and the community in a variety of ways.

Her new job requires a public presence in the Houston community, but "it won't be the Lisa Foronda show," she said. "It's the CenterPoint Energy show and I'm helping out."

She figures it could be several years before Houstonians forget her television celebrity status. She will honor a previous commitment to emcee a charity luncheon, but vows to keep a low profile after that.

Instead she's looking forward to volunteering with animal rescue groups (she is an avid pet lover), running marathons and spending nights at home with her boyfriend and her two dogs, whom she refers to as "my kids."

Foronda's decision is unusual in two respects, said Beth Olson, director of the University of Houston School of Journalism.

While national surveys show that a sizable number of women in television leave the profession, often to spend more time with their family, it doesn't happen often in major markets, where the stakes are higher.

And those who do leave usually aren't as up front as Foronda, Olson said.

"What's uncommon is she stated her desire to get out of the public eye. Other people have walked away. They just aren't that honest about it because it's a contradiction to the job. The one thing anchors strive for is that public recognition."

Foronda remains loyal to Channel 11 and can't wait to see "who they replace me with," she said.

"If I ever worked in TV news again, I would go back there. Of course, that's about as likely as an ice cube staying frozen in hell. Once I've made a decision, I don't go back on it."