Anne Mroczkowski comes to Global Toronto

Global Toronto announced late last month that esteemed local news personality Anne Mroczkowski will join Leslie Roberts as the new co-anchor of the station’s flagship 6pm newscast on June 1, 2010.

For more than 30 years, award-winning veteran news anchor Anne Mroczkowski has brought local television audiences the stories that have moved, shaken or stirred their hearts, minds and lives in the GTA. She comes to Global having co-anchored CityTV’s primetime newscast for more than two decades.

Anne was born in Hamilton, raised in Toronto’s Parkdale district and studied journalism at Carleton University and Niagara College. Despite many opportunities to work abroad, she chose to remain in the community she loves so much, where her roots are deep and her commitment to the GTA is one of enduring affection.

The media veteran spoke to the National Post’s Melissa Leong about her departure and her new gig.

Q What happened on Jan. 18, 2010?

There are all kinds of euphemisms for what happened to me and 35 other people but there were cutbacks. They called it a termination but I called it something else. For at least 24 hours, I was incoherent. I gave myself a couple of weeks to recover from that blow. I didn’t screw up. I did a good job all those many years and then a big company needed to make a big decision and they made it. I don’t take that personally. But still, there is this residual feeling for anyone who has been down-sized.

Q What did you do afterward?

I’ve been working since i was 22 and I’ve never not worked. I took the time to be quiet, to be reflective, to think about where my life has been and where it’s going. I think this is a place that a lot of people find themselves in mid-life – it could be marriage, it could be health – where you have to stand still for awhile and think about what is next. I began to see that this was an opportunity for me to really explore some other areas and interest. I had some interest in PR and branding work. I was looking at radio.

Q Why did you decide to return to daily broadcast news?

I gave this a great deal of thought: Do I want deeply to get back into the cut and thrust of daily news? I thought it out, and I talked about it and I’m sure I bored my friends to tears. When I arrived at the decision, I knew that this was right for me. I wanted to join this team and embrace this new environment and this new culture.

I’m in my 50s. I also wanted to make a point about being a woman in mid-life with a lot of experience and a great deal to offer. Hundreds of thousands of men and women have been told in their forties and fifties, all that experience, eh, not so much. To have one employer say what you bring to the table is not what we want any more and have another one say this is exactly what we want, this is exactly what we want to celebrate…This is a vindication.

Q How do you think your CityTV viewers will react to your new locale?

I was very gratified with the outpouring of support and affection on the part of the public. I’m extremely hopeful that my viewers, and my fans, if I may call them that, find a way to Leslie and me on the anchor desk at Global Toronto.

Q What can viewers expect from you and Leslie Roberts?

I think you’re going to see two people who like and respect each other. He’s very funny, he’s very charming, he’s extremely smart. We come from a point of being esteemed competitors and now esteemed colleagues and I’m hoping friends. I have the greatest respect for CityTV but that chapter is finished and I’ve started a new book.