For three decades, Gloria Campos has been like a member of the family to thousands of North Texans. In today’s Friday Conversation, the 59-year-old WFAA-Channel 8 anchor talks about her career as the first Latino anchor on local TV news and about how she’ll say goodbye tonight.
Interview Highlights: Gloria Campos on...
...Why she's leaving: "The downturn in 2008 kind of stunted my plans at the time. I was asked to do the 5 o'clock [newscast, in addition to 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.] after we had lost staff.... That was a major component in my decision to speed my retirement because it wore me out."
...The story that's stuck with her: "I remember a young lady ... she was a Latina. And she had been injured really bad in an auto accident. I did several follow-ups on her, and gradually she got better. You know, we didn't really do those kinds of stories in the beginning, to kind of profile a victim like that.... I hate that we would report crime and not talk about the victim."
...On being a trailblazing Latina on TV: "The person who preceded me as a news reporter there had not done well, and was let go after one year. And so I felt a tremendous amount of pressure to succeed so that other Latinos would get an opportunity ... If I don't succeed, then maybe there won't be another one getting a chance."
...A key moment early in her career: "Early on in my career at Channel 8, I want to say 6 months in, someone came up to me in the community and said to me, 'Gloria, when I see you on TV, I see myself.' It was a turning point in my life, and in my career. I thought to myself, 'If this person who doesn't know me believes in me, then I better start believing in myself."
Take a look back at Campos' career -- we have videos of the anchor through the years.
