Jenny Anchondo exits Fox4 (updated Thursday p.m.)
03/22/18 08:22 AM
By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Surprising many of her colleagues, Fox4 anchor-reporter Jenny Anchondo has left the Dallas-based station, effective immediately.
“Today is my last day at Fox4,” she said in a newsroom memo sent Wednesday, March 21st. “I wanted to send a quick note of encouragement before my departure.”
Anchondo, best known for anchoring the early morning weekend editions of Good Day, told Fox4 staffers that “this can be a tough business but don’t let it steal your passion. You got noticed and hired for a reason. Continue to shine and perfect your craft and do what you do best for the people who trust us with their news. I’ll be staying in town. Wishing you the absolute best.”
Anchondo has not returned a message asking for further comment. Fox4 vice president/news director Robin Whitmeyer referred an inquiry to a Fox corporate spokesperson in New York, who confirmed Anchondo’s March 21st departure.
Anchondo joined Fox4 in October 2013 from WXIN-TV in Indianapolis. She immediately began anchoring the Saturday and Sunday Good Day programs while also reporting three days a week. That may have been a sticking point. Sources at Fox4 say that Anchondo much preferred anchoring and didn’t relish going out in the field.
Other sources say Anchondo’s exit was amicable and that Fox4 fully intended to sign her to a new contract before her current one expired. But Anchondo reportedly initiated talks with management and eventually asked to be freed to pursue other opportunities.
She’ll have a standard non-compete clause of at least six months that would prevent Anchondo from appearing on-camera at a rival North Texas station during that time. Anchondo and her husband, Heath, had their first child, a daughter, last summer.
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