L.A. love story …
Lynette Romero a familiar face as 'News@10' anchor
By Leah Franklin

"I think it's a good thing if viewers want to say hello because it means they feel like they know you." -Lynette Romero

The smiling face of Lynette Romero ('89) travels through Los Angeles on MTA buses and decorates huge billboards, including one on Sunset and Vine near the WB at KTLA television station where she anchors "News@Ten" and co-hosts a weekly show.

Getting to Los Angeles was quite a journey for the Colorado native.

"If you have a dream, you've got to go for it," Romero said.

Her broadcasting career began the summer before her senior year at the School, when she got an internship with KUSA-Channel 9 in Denver. After it ended, she stayed at the station to train future interns. She was hired as an overnight writer for KUSA after she graduated.

"I'd stick around after my shift, and when a big story hit, I'd be there to get it," Romero said. She worked as a reporter and anchor at KUSA for 10 years. Then she was ready for a change.

"I was hungry, and I wanted more. That's when I moved to L.A.," she said.

Leaving Denver was hard because most of Romero's family lives in Colorado. Family is very important to her, and her mother is her best friend, she said.

Romero said she is working on getting her mom to move to Los Angeles. In the meantime, they speak on the telephone at least once a day.

"Even though she's far away, we are as close as ever," Romero said.

Romero arrived in California in December 1998 without a job. She went to the news director at KTLA and, though there were no positions open, he hired Romero as a per diem reporter for vacation relief during the holidays. She was offered a position as a full-time reporter by the first week of January 1999. A year and a half later, Romero became the"News@Ten" anchor.

It was risky moving to Los Angeles without a job, Romero said, but she has never regretted it.

"I'm a firm believer in controlling your decisions and your destiny," she said.

Romero said she is very happy at KTLA. She shares the"News@Ten" anchor desk with Hal Fishman, who has been a broadcaster for more than 43 years. She also teaches in UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television Professional Program.

In her five years at the station, Romero has won several awards. Her first, she received a Golden Mike award from the Radio & Television News Association of California for a series on public schools that she wrote, produced and reported.

She has won two Emmy Awards, one for feature news reporting and another for her show,"Making It: Minority Success Stories. " In 2001, she won a second Golden Mike award along with her"News@Ten" colleagues for best 60-minute newscast.

Romero said even though her work is rewarding, it requires thick skin.

"I get criticisms from my hair to my lipstick," she said.

Romero sifts the criticism, taking the useful information and letting go of anything hateful. She just tries to do her job, she said, and be true to herself.

"I'm humbled by what we do," Romero said,"We reach out and touch millions of people through that little square box. "

There is an intimate relationship between broadcasters and viewers, Romero said. That relationship is most apparent to her when she is not on the air.

"It's always a little surprising when I'm incognito, with my baseball cap and no makeup on, and someone comes up to me and says, 'I know you. You're on 'News@Ten,'" Romero said.

Romero said she is always a representative of KTLA and has an obligation to be polite, even if she's having a bad day. Most people are respectful of her privacy, she said, and they often just say a quick hello.

"I think it's a good thing if viewers want to say hello because it means they feel like they know you," Romero said. She tries to be herself as much as possible when she's on the air to nurture that relationship with viewers, she said. Viewers are smart, she said, and can tell if a reporter is being genuine on the air.

Romero's other KTLA show also touches the community. "Making It" is a weekly half-hour show that highlights the triumphs, challenges and contributions of minority business enterprises. Romero said the show has been a unique experience for her as a journalist.

"People complain that we only cover bad news," Romero said. "'Making It' has been an opportunity to report success stories."

While Romero is busy at KTLA, she said she also has a life beyond the station.

"I am a career-motivated person, but I have a life outside of work, too," Romero said. "There's more to life than just a job. "

Romero married David Angulo at the Los Angeles River Center and Gardens on July 11. They met in 1994 while participating in a Spanish-immersion program in Guadalajara, Mexico. He lived in Los Angeles, and she lived in Denver. After several years of conducting a long-distance relationship, Angulo played a role in Romero's move to Los Angeles. He is a franchisee in the restaurant business.

Romero said she doubts she will be anchoring for 43 years, like co-anchor Fishman. "Women have a window of opportunity, and you need to take advantage of it," she said.

Whether in Colorado or Los Angeles, working or not, she believes in being content. "You control your own happiness," Romero said.