Aug 7, 2009 6:30 am US/Mountain
CBS4's Gloria Neal Keeps The Conversation Real
Written by Brooke Wagner
(CBS4)
You won't find Gloria Neal primping in a dressing room hours before a newscast. And after the show, you won't catch her sipping a fancy coffee in the newsroom.
More likely, she'll be on the phone or keyboard, keeping up the day's conversation with CBS4 viewers.
"Oh, he's gonna love me!' she says out loud, as she writes a regular viewer named Bill.
When she tackles topics from President Obama's health plan to rules for Twittering to Michael Jackson's impact, Neal knows many viewers won't agree with her. In fact, she often prefers it that way.
"I'm going to be the person who provokes. My commentary, my humor, my journalism are going to be provocative. I want you to join that conversation," Neal said.
This month, Neal will celebrate 1 year on the air at CBS4 News. She joined the morning team as a commentator for the Democratic National Convention last summer.
Her years working in radio for stations, including KOA, Sassy, Jammin' 92.5, and KTRH in Houston, garnered Neal a heap of awards and notoriety, but it wasn't until last year that she felt comfortable branching into television.
"I said, 'If you're going to try to change me, you'll have a bad day!'" said Neal. "But everything just fit. From Day 1, I was terrified. I was sweating bullets ... But this experiment seems to be working out."
Every morning, Neal meets with show producers Michael Espinoza and Alan Singer, as well as Morning Executive Producer Duncan Shaw, to discuss ideas for her segment.
"Whatever the hot topic is, it always has to be provocative and it always has to be useful," said Neal, "If I can get you to stop and watch CBS4, honey, it's a good day for everyone."
After each segment, Neal requests viewer comments and questions via Twitter, Facebook, e-mail and instant message. She also writes more of her own thoughts
in her blog.
"Some people think I'm edgy on TV, but ... read my blog!" Neal said.
This month, Neal dons yet another media mantle. Her first "Glo Knows" column appears in August's edition of Denver Magazine, on newsstands. Denver Magazine is a partner of CBS4 News.
"If you're talking about it, then either I'm talking about it on CBS4 or writing about it in Denver Magazine," said Neal.
Neal is married to a fellow journalist. Growing up, she moved all over the nation and the world with her family, during her father's 31-year Army career. Neal said her mother taught her how to take care of herself, be herself and speak her mind.
"I'm real. I'm not perfect, I'm not trying to be perfect, I struggle with stuff, just like everybody else," Neal said. "People have been gracious and kind to respond with, 'Hey, that woman is me!' Not, 'Hey, that's a black woman' or 'Hey, that's a woman with short hair,' but 'I can relate to that woman because that's exactly how I feel.'
"And when people come up and say that to me - men, woman, even teenagers -- that's the biggest compliment. That's worth letting go of the sheets at 2:30 in the morning."
Neal also enjoys being at the forefront of a new kind of continuous, high tech conversation with viewers.
"The time is ripe in history for what we're doing at CBS4 ... and people are watching," she said.
(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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