Three years after becoming a member of News4Jax, sports anchor/reporter Alessandra Pontbriand has left WJXT TV-4.
Pontbriand, whose final day on air was June 19, was the primary full-time feminine member within the sports division on the Graham Media-owned unbiased station in its 77-year historical past, in keeping with her LinkedIn profile.
Advertisement
“Three years. Countless memories. Lifelong friendships. Forever grateful to be the first female sports anchor at @news4jax and excited for the incredible women who will follow,” Pontbriand wrote in a June 23 post on X, previously Twitter.
Pontbriand anchored and reported for the station’s 6:30, 10 and 11 p.m. newscasts.
During her closing News4Jax broadcast, she thanked her viewers and coworkers.
“Three years ago, I moved to Jacksonville to follow a dream. … From the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you. Thank you to the viewers for welcoming me into your homes and watching every day. Thank you to the coaches, the players and the fans who trusted me to tell your stories … and thank you to my coworkers, the people you don’t see on camera … who help keep this station running every day.”
Advertisement
She made the announcement surrounded by her co-anchors and colleagues, together with the News4Jax sports workforce.
“It’s not easy being a female in sports, especially right now,” she stated. “They (her sports counterparts) have championed me. They have given me confidence when I didn’t feel confident.”
Pontbriand’s departure was the second in every week and at the least the third for on-air expertise this 12 months at Channel 4.
On June 14, News4Jax reporter and weekend anchor (*3*) on the station.
And in March, “The Morning Show” visitors anchor/reporter Amanda DeVoe left the station for the same position at KSTP TV-5 in Minneapolis.
Advertisement
Pontbriand, a University of Alabama graduate, beforehand labored at stations in Springfield, Ill., and Tuscaloosa, Ala. She didn’t say the place her subsequent cease can be.
Gary T. Mills is the deputy managing editor at The Florida Times-Union. He has led the newspaper’s eating protection since 2010, in addition to personnel modifications at Jacksonville’s native TV information organizations.
This article initially appeared on Florida Times-Union: News4Jax sports anchor Alessandra Pontbriand leaves Channel 4