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Bianca De La Garza Drops Anchor For New TV Venture

Get ready for “Bianca unanchored.”

No more 3 a.m. wake-up calls for WCVB-TV (Ch.5) morning newswoman Bianca de la Garza.

She’s departing the station’s “EyeOpener” newscast for her “dream job.”

The 38-year-old single mother — one of the city’s top female anchors — is leaving the morning news desk behind as she launches her own production company, Lucky Gal Productions, and a new lifestyle show that will air on WCVB.

“It’s an opportunity for me to communicate and connect with our viewers and with people of New England in a way that’s distinctly my own — and that is a dream job in television,” de la Garza told me yesterday at the Seaport Hotel. “I kind of have an entrepreneurial spirit. I don’t play things super safe.”

Upbeat and excited about her new venture, the Milton-bred blonde beauty — dressed in an eye-catching fuchsia ensemble and stilettos — described the as-yet-untitled show as a late-night, personality-driven program. It will focus on Boston’s celebrity, fashion and nightlife scene.

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“This is one of the best days of my life,” she said. “You’re just going to see me in a totally new way. Under the news umbrella, I can only really do so much. So it’ll be a little bit more unfiltered. Let’s call it Bianca unanchored.”

De la Garza has been anchoring Channel 5’s early show — which has long held the No. 1 spot in Boston’s TV news ratings war — for nearly six years. Her contract with WCVB was up last week, but she’s staying on the anchor desk until the end of May.

De la Garza, an Emerson College grad, came to Boston via San Diego and quickly rose through the ranks to become one of the city’s top media personalities. She’s been in the news business for 17 years, covering local, national and international stories, many of which have been overwhelmingly emotional.

“We had so many big stories happening here, all affecting me so personally, and I just took a long look at what I wanted my next five, 10 years to look like,” she said. “And I thought to myself that moving into a more creative sphere, but staying in television, would really fulfill my passion.”

Without an 8 p.m. bedtime and ungodly wake-up calls, she’ll be able to make even more time for her 8-year-old daughter, Danica, as well as her extensive charity work. It’s a bold career move that will surely leave loyal fans unhappy, but she says the change is “fulfilling a big dream.”

“This is what’s going to really get me up every day with a smile on my face,” she said, “although it won’t be at 3 a.m.”

Read the whole story at Boston Herald »

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