NSU Grad Joins Anchor Team in New Orleans

Jessica Holly is putting her degree from NSU to good use.  After graduation, she began working at KALB in Alexandria and did anything and everything.  Her persistence worked, and she got her first on-air job as the station's crime reporter.  Holly went on to work at stations in Lafayette, LA, Corpus Christi, TX, and Mobile, AL, before joining the news team at WGNO in New Orleans this year.

Rick Erbach, WGNO's news director, is betting Holly fills a niche surrounding ABC's programming and the programming on New Orleans' CW network, shows like "Desperate Housewives," "Dancing With the Stars," "90201," and "Gossip Girl."

"(These programs) have rejuvenated both networks, when you really could’ve counted both of them down-and-out," Erbach told The Times Picayune. "What you see in all those programs are very strong women, confident women, that bring a different perspective to it.

"What we’re looking at trying to capture is that 18-49, that 18-39, female. She’s put in a day of work, she’s had the children, and now for the 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., she wants to kick back and find out what does she need to know.

"Everyone can do the Afghanistan stories, the Pakistan stories, the Obama health care — all very, very important stories, but let’s show some other things that are going on in the community."