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If you were surprised to see me back on TV, you're not alone. My decision to go back to work wasn't planned, but I sure am happy! Here's the story of how I ended up doing a job that feels like it was made for me.
For those just catching up, I took a new position in June as Lifestyle Host on a brand-new show called Upstate Living that airs on WTEN-TV here in Albany, NY. The position is special for more than one reason. First off, the job was basically a dream come true and came at the perfect time. I had been creating a lifestyle brand before the show launched and had even launched this lifestyle blog. Another reason it all feels surreal, the show didn't exist before we launched it. I got a once in a lifetime opportunity to help create a brand-new TV show. Lastly, the crew on the TV show is a dream team that has all the same goals as me: to create positive, entertaining, modern TV content for the community we love. Let me tell you this is a Godsend that only could've come as a gift from above, so you'll want to read this entire story.
"Let me tell you this is a Godsend that could've only come as a gift from above, so you'll want to read this entire story."
What's crazy? This dream job never would've happened if I hadn't made the tough decision to leave television news in 2023. I quit in order to pursue my dream of having children, which wasn't coming easy at the time. I dropped my 18-year television career that primarily included anchoring and hard news reporting to focus on fertility treatment. When I left, I was at the top of my game and had been interviewing at the network level. I had no plans of going back into news, because in addition to my desire to have children, I had totally changed. The news stories and politics I was charged with speaking on every day weren't sitting well with me anymore. The negativity was draining me and I was burnt out. Quitting isn't part of my DNA, so it was a hard time. The decision to leave sent me on a whole new trajectory. I didn't know what was next, but I knew that I wanted my focus to be on positivity and joy. I stated that in my Instagram post when I announced I was leaving my news position. I didn't know then, but I had set-up the next thing by letting go of the old.
In January 2024, on my 38th birthday I learned I was pregnant with twin girls. When I got the positive pregnancy test I started doing something I had always wanted to. I began making videos on social media about things I find joyful: fashion, shopping and food. I changed the direction of my website and began blogging about faith and relationships. All of this was uncomfortable for me as I was in a full-blown identity crisis. I still included a "Real Talk" section for political stories on my website because I just couldn't let go of my old self. Let me tell you, it was a process.
Two things happened during this time period. 1.) I learned I love lifestyle content. 2.) I did things that felt really uncomfortable.
For example, I created a flyer with my top-10 favorite boutiques in Saratoga Springs and a food guide. I asked my favorite stores to pass it out to try and get the word out about my blog. I did this while I was 7 months pregnant with the twins! At the time many people thought I was crazy. They thought it was weird that a hard news anchor woman who used to get in debates with the New York Governor was now trying to break into the fashion world at almost 40 years old, but thankfully the story wasn't over.
After the twins were born I was incredibly happy staying at home, but I still felt lost in terms of my career. Even though I had some success with social media including some reels that gained hundreds of thousands of views and made a lot of great connections, my imposter syndrome got the best of me, so I stopped. I read a Bible verse that stuck with me. The verse Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still and know that I am God." The meaning of the verse is that God has you covered. You don't have to keep reaching and searching because if you have faith in Him whatever is meant for you will find you. I decided to stop worrying about the future and just focus on my girls.
About a year went by. I had only posted 5 times and had only blogged once or twice. Then came the message. It went something like this:
"Hi Anne! Would you ever consider coming out of TV retirement? We are launching the area's first lifestyle show and I think you could be perfect for this!"
I had no plans of working and was completely content just staying home with the girls. I had let go of my content creation. I was doing nothing and at peace, but this felt like a sign.
A lifestyle show? This was incredible because up until this point, Albany didn't have a lifestyle show. Up until this point, there was no way for me to go back into television doing something positive, because this type of show didn't exist here.
That DM that changed everything! I went to try out for the show and there were even more signs I was headed in the right direction. The woman who answered the door was the person who sent the DM, Brittany Drahos. Brit was an old friend from when I lived in Saratoga Springs years ago who I hadn't seen much in years, but who I always stayed connected to online. She also worked in TV and had admired my work from when I was in news. Now, almost 12 years later I had no idea Brittany had risen through the ranks to upper management at WTEN-TV ABC 10. It was such an honor that she thought of me for this.
The next sign was wild! Billy Floyd would be my co-host. He was already hired by the station. That was another sign because Billy just happened to be the son of my longtime former co-anchor Greg Floyd, who is a dear friend and someone I admire! But that's not all, Billy had a very similar journey to me. Ten years my junior, Billy had also left the news business because of the negative news cycle and had been trying to find his way for years doing influencing and sports arena announcing. I had been watching him, seeing all of his potential and wondering where he would land. Little did I know, it would be next to me hosting our very own show together!
The audition went better than expected. Billy and I had great on-air chemistry. Then, the station did an amazing thing and agreed to give me part-time hours so I could still have ample time with the twins. Part-time is almost unheard of in the news business! Yet another sign, so I said yes!
The original team got even greater with the addition of Jaclyn Nethaway as Executive Producer to help us craft the show into what we all had been dreaming up. We were all on the same page. Jackie came in and saved us when we didn't have a producer in time to launch in June because our full-time hire Michael O'Donnell couldn't start until August. She worked for a month and a half during her third trimester of pregnancy right until her due date to get the show on the air!
Let me tell you, starting a show from scratch is not easy, especially as a start up! The first two months we were living and breathing this show into existence, but we created something brand new. A show that focuses on the positive, highlights local people with a great story, promotes local businesses and that is just a lot of fun.
The joyful outlet I was searching for came to me at just the right time, when I finally stood still and trusted Him to work it out.
Upstate Living airs Monday-Friday 10am-11am EST on WTEN ABC 10 Albany, NY, stream live here or record the show on YouTube TV. Catch show clips on our Upstate Living Show social media pages.
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