By Lindsay Ferguson, lf245706@ohio.edu

ATHENS, Ohio (Jan. 26, 2010)—A dynamic personality, four years of journalism preparation and an air of confidence is what it took for Ohio University alumna Annie Porembski to be named the 2010 CW Star of WWHO-TV.

Porembski, who graduated in 2009 with a degree in broadcast journalism, was picked out of hundreds of applicants to be the face and voice of the local affiliate CW station in Columbus. She’s earned a position that will require her to follow in the footsteps of the past three CW Stars and to display her liveliness for numerous correspondent appearances this year. Porembski, who will be fulfilling her role for one calendar year, is ready and eager to tackle the task.

“This is going to be a crazy, fun experience,” she said. “I know I’ll gain so much.”

Though Porembski said her win—which was helped by votes cast by her family, friends and CW viewers—was a surprise, others who know her weren’t nearly as shocked by her success. Her former advisor, Assistant Professor Mary Rogus in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, said Porembski had all the makings of a CW Star.

“Annie was one of the most enthusiastic people that I’ve ever met,” Rogus said. “She was a very creative television journalist, so I wasn’t surprised to see her go after something like this and get it. Most people have to work to bring across their personalities on camera, and Annie is one of those people who the camera just loves.”

Stephanie Slagle, creative services director of WWHO-TV, was equally impressed by Porembski’s on-air persona, and explained what the station looks for when deciding the next CW Star.

“The CW Star has to exude the style and energy of the CW network,” Slagle said in an e-mail. “This is something that they should carry with them on camera and off.”

Annie herself has noted her larger-than-life personality as a characteristic that she thinks helped make a favorable impression on the judges, as well as her self-assured outlook.

“I went into the whole process thinking, ‘I have nothing to lose, it’s only going to be more experience for me,’” Porembski said. “With that attitude I came across as myself and I showed who I was. I think that contributed to why I won; I didn’t try to hide or be what I thought they wanted.”

Porembski also said that the sincerity and openness she conveyed during her auditions was clearly enhanced by her experience as a broadcast journalism student. In between being an active member of Sigma Kappa Sorority and working at Follett’s University Bookstore on campus, Porembski spent time producing quality assignments for “Athens Midday”, a daily live newscast entirely produced by students.

“OU gave me the tools to be in front of the camera, and I learned so much,” Porembski said. “It really has helped me and was a factor in how I got my position. I’m the first CW Star who knows how to edit, how to one-man-band it.”

Slagle also noticed Porembski’s talent when it came to the camera. “We could immediately tell that Annie had some on-camera training,” she said.

Rogus agrees that Scripps students are often well prepared once they’ve left campus in search of employment and said that she regularly hears praise from employers about OHIO alumni.

“Our students do very well because we have a lot of opportunities for them to take those natural gifts that they have and develop them, refine them and practice them,” Rogus said. “[Annie] took advantage of all the opportunities to get that real hands-on experience.”

For this reason, Porembski’s new position isn’t her first stint in entertainment journalism; instead, it’s another addition to her already impressive résumé. She previously interned at “Showbiz Tonight,” CNN’s entertainment news program, which she said furthered her interest in the field and encouraged her to try out for the CW Star. 

“’Showbiz Tonight’ pushed me in the direction of entertainment journalism. It’s a growing industry,” Porembski said. “It takes an outgoing personality, someone who is familiar with what’s going on. With the CW; I just have to be me. I get to be silly and get to loosen up the person I’m interviewing.”

In addition to conducting interviews, Porembski will also be blogging about her experiences, doing reviews and covering local events as she settles into her new position. And having landed a dream job so soon after graduation, she also had words of advice for soon-to-be graduates.

“I was glad that I was patient, and I was completely myself through the whole process,” Porembski said. “Don’t compromise and don’t settle.”

Follow Porembski online at http://www.wwhotv.com/subindex/cw_star. Porembski is also updating on Facebook and Twitter.