Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristin Diaz.
Hi Kristin, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m a graduate of the University of North Texas, where I studied Radio/TV/Film. While I was in college, I worked at the CW33 here in Dallas as a part-time production assistant and volunteered at my campus TV and Radio stations. When I graduated, I moved to Corpus Christi, TX for my first on-air gig at the local ABC station where I worked as a Weekend Weather Anchor and Weekday Reporter. I was quickly promoted to Weekday Morning Weather Anchor but ultimately decided I missed reporting and shifted my focus to back to news. Another promotion came my way where I then became the Weekday Morning Co-Anchor. I loved my job as Morning Anchor, but an opportunity for me to come back home the DFW was one I couldn’t pass up! In 2020, I joined NewsRadio 1080 KRLD as their Afternoon News Co-Anchor. It’s been wonderful ever since!
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’m a pretty optimistic person and don’t usually look at challenges as struggles but more moments of growth. I do remember getting pretty homesick at first moving to a small town 7 hours away from home. But it created a challenge for me to get to know my community more and meet people through my work. That ended up being great asset to my career. I was able to know the community I served that much more. Later down the road, I did experience burnout. Working those early morning hours and then volunteering for every event really taught me a good lesson in learning when to say “no” and listening to when my body needs rest. When I left Corpus Christi, I focused on getting my mind and body back to a health place.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I often have people ask me why I left television to go into radio, and I always think it’s a funny question because to me, there’s not much difference. One has a camera, the other doesn’t. I think there’s a misunderstanding that I left to become a radio jock. Not the case. I’m still a local news anchor that shares stories about our community, and I do long-form interviews with my co-anchor, David Rancken, about news topics that might need a little more time to pick apart. Him and I are on the air weekdays from 3-7 p.m., and at 4:40 p.m. each day, we have our “Ask the Expert” segment where we go a little deeper on topics that might be trending in the news, i.e., COVID-19, the housing market, the extreme heat wave and our energy grid, etc. 1080 KRLD has given us such a freedom to get curious about the things that drive our metroplex and I love that we don’t have to stick to the parameters of just a short 5/6/10 p.m. newscast– we’re news ALL day!
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I think being a people person has helped me tremendously in my career. I’m always curious about people’s stories. I think it all started when I was a kid. I was often the only child in a room full of adults. I also have some great storytellers in my family– growing up in a Latino household there’s always dramatic storytelling, ha! I also give so much credit to my parents because they are just two powerhouses within their own right. They have set such an amazing example for me on how to engage with others how to be respectful of our elders who have so much wisdom to share. They both light up a room wherever they go, and they always believe in having a good time. I try to keep that same sense of joy wherever I go, too.
Contact Info:
- Website: krld.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristindiaztv/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheOfficialKristinDiaz
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristin-diaz-2ab41a27/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/KristinDiazTv
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@KristinDiaz
