Anchor feels up to task

After a rigorous process, this journalist got the job.
By NANCILYNN GATTA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Replacing a television personality who was embraced by the community is not an easy task, but Autumn Ziemba says she is ready for the challenge as she joins as co-anchor at WFMJ TV-21's 6 and 11 p.m. news today.
"This position is far too important to put someone in who is just a performer or just a reader, because our anchors at Channel 21 news go out and we report stories. Mona Alexander [news director] and I agreed on this, that the person we were going to get had to be a journalist," said Bob Black, who co-anchors Channel 21's broadcasts.
Ziemba, who is filling the job vacated earlier this year when Laura Steele left for Buffalo, N.Y., graduated from the Scripps School at Ohio University with a major in journalism. While there, Ziemba worked at the National Public Radio station and then at the PBS television station.
The right choice
"I was toying my freshman year between magazine journalism and broadcast journalism. I ended up going with broadcast simply because I felt so much more comfortable," she said. "People ask me, 'Don't you feel nervous in front of the camera?' I've never been that person. It's just a perfect fit."
Her first network position after graduation was at WTAP in Parkersburg, W.Va.
"Wearing every hat in Parkersburg. I wouldn't trade that experience for anything. That's so valuable to know every single job. It just adds to your credibility," she said. "I'm so proud of the fact that I've gone out at eight o'clock in the morning and shot video and did the interviews and then came back to the station. Sat down and looked at the video and wrote the story. Edited the video. Produced the show. When I went on the air that night, it was truly my show."
After one year, she moved to WUPW in Toledo. She was the weekend anchor/reporter there and also did some work as a producer. Working at WFMJ will be a change for her in many ways.
"This is a first for me to have the title of anchor/reporter and not anchor reporter/editor/photographer/producer. It'll be fun," said Ziemba.
Getting the position
To become the weekday news anchor, Ziemba went through a rigorous audition-interview process.
It began when she sent in a r & eacute;sum & eacute; tape of her work and concluded with two taped auditions. Black commented that a news anchor needs to be someone viewers want in their homes.
Ziemba believes she is that person. "The last thing I want to be is intimidating. I need to get to know this community. For them to accept me they have to get to know me, and how are they going to do that unless I'm out there in the field reporting about issues that are important to them?" she said.
Raised in Northeast Ohio, Ziemba feels comfortable being here.
"Even though I'm not from Youngstown per se, I truly feel like I'm coming home," she said.