WDRB’s Valerie Chinn leads a very full life. In fact, in the fullness of her life, some might say she leads enough for two or three lives. She is the co-anchor for the 11:30 a.m newscast. She is a full-time reporter for the 4 p.m. newscast and a full-time wife and the mother of three children. Yes, Valerie Chinn is a modern day Super-Mom.
Chinn has been anchoring the news for about 14 years, and says she likes the mixture between anchoring and reporting. The mixture is reminiscent of her college days at the University of Missouri and its NBC affiliate, KOMU, where she worked part-time. After graduating from there, she went to work at Austin, Minn. for 1 1/2 years, before moving on to Duluth, Minn. for another 1 1/2 years. She left Duluth to come to Louisville in June, 2001.
When she arrived here, Chinn had little intention of staying long. Chinn saw Louisville as a stepping stone to a larger TV market.
“When I moved here, I thought, ‘I’ll just stay in Louisville for a couple of years,’” Chinn said. “And 11 years later, I am still here.”
Chinn was born on March 2, in Portland, Ore. She explained her Asian beauty this way: “My father is Chinese. My mother is Vietnamese. They met during the war. My Dad was in the U.S Army.”
Chinn went to Aloha High School in Portland and served on the school newspaper, The Warrior, for three years.
“In high school, in 10th grade, I tried journalism class and the school newspaper and loved it,” Chinn said. “And from there I was hooked.”
Chinn loves her workplace at WDRB-41 TV.
“I am happy where I am at,” Chinn said. “I love my job. What we have here is unique. That is why people stay here for such a long time. We are ‘family.’ We are ‘family-friendly,’ too.”
Chinn says the same about her adopted hometown of Louisville: “family-friendly.” She also likes Louisville for its low cost of living, its good schools and its weather (too much rain in Portland).
The only thing she would change about Louisville is she would love to see a Nordstrom rack store here.
Chinn’s days are filled with activity, that usually start at about 6 a.m.
“I have three children, ages 7, 5, and 3.” Chinn said. “The mornings are filled with getting them ready for school.” She usually runs errands and arrives at work by 9 a.m.
Then she has a news meeting till 9:30 a.m. and writes news until 11:15 a.m.
“Then I report as soon as I go off the air at noon and do a story that will air at 4 o’clock,” Chinn said.
Chinn says that there is a certain amount of pressure to write and edit stories by 4 p.m. each day, but has grown accustom to it.
Chinn says, “the work day is over at 5, if there is no breaking news (and) after that it is family time.
Then it is Boy Scouts, piano lessons and Tae Kwon Do.”
Chinn usually retires around 11 p.m. each night, but is often up until midnight.
Most people would agree, that is a very productive day.
