Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Roselli, Fisher both have left Channel 13
Apair of highly popular, longtime morning anchors have signed off at KTNV, Channel 13 over the past couple of weeks.
Dayna Roselli, a popular morning TV personality in Las Vegas since 2004, marked her final day at the ABC affiliate on Friday. Roselli’s fouryear contract with the station has run out.
Beth Fisher, the popular morning anchor for seven years on Channel 13, is taking the city of Henderson’s social media officer position. Fisher starts the new role Monday. Her last day at Channel 13 was Sept. 27. She gave the station notice in May that she was leaving.
Both anchors said the often unforgiving morning schedule was the reason for their departures.
KTNV General Manager Chris Way has not announced replacements for either on-air personality. He said Friday the search is ongoing.
Roselli reiterates she is staying in Las Vegas. She also plans to decompress.
“After almost 15 years on the morning shift in Las Vegas, I’ve decided I need a change in hours and some sleep!” Roselli said in a statement Thursday. “It’s always a difficult decision when you love what you do. I’m grateful for my last four years at KTNV, and so proud of the team I’ve worked with!! One thing that will not change is my love for Las Vegas and the people that live here.”
Roselli started at the station in October 2015. She was previously a radio host and spent eight years as morning anchor and traffic reporter at KLAS-TV, Channel 8 after arriving in Las Vegas in April 2004. To disclose, yours truly has appeared with Roselli on the midday show since spring 2016.
Similar to the reasons given by her friend and on-air partner Fisher, Roselli says she is over the early morning routine. She has not yet lined up the next phase of her career and life.
“Because I’ve been on the morning shift, getting up at 2 a.m., and living a busy lifestyle, I haven’t had time to decide yet,” Roselli says. “I’m taking a breath. Listening to ideas. Enjoying friends I don’t get to see often. I have no plans to leave Las Vegas!”
Fisher is also staying in her adopted hometown, eager to bolster Henderson’s social media scope.
“This gives me a chance to focus on positive news, family events, and showing who I am in my heart,” Fisher said during a phone chat Monday. “I feel like I got lucky.”
Fisher had spent seven years at Channel 13, working the challenging morning-anchor shift. Fisher said she wanted more time with her husband, Clark County Fire Department Battalion Chief Rian Glassford, and their children, 13-year-old Elle and 11-year-old Dain Glassford.
“For me, it means I go to bed and wake up with my husband,” Fisher said. “It means I can get the kiddos ready for school.”
Fisher moved to Las Vegas from Medford, Oregon, in 1999 to take a position at KSNV, Channel 3. She left the station to have kids, returning to the airways in August 2012.
The morning shift is an adjustment for anyone, requiring a very early wake-up call (3 a.m. is considered sleeping in) and studio arrival.
“My kids, when they were really little, thought going to bed at 7 o’clock was normal,” Fisher said, laughing. “But when you get older, it isn’t normal. They are staying up later, school activities are later, and it gets harder and harder to work a morning schedule.”
Fisher and her husband actually met through her work at Channel 3 — a cold call leading to a blind date.
“He was watching the news at work with a bunch of other firefighters, and said, ‘Why can’t I meet a girl like her?’ ” Fisher said. ‘So he called me at the TV station and asked me on a blind date. He goes, ‘I know you’re new to town, I’m not crazy and I would really like to show you around town.’”
The couple met for dinner, dated for about 18 months, and here we are. As they say, it’s a great human-interest story.
Cirque circles Bank
Cirque du Soleil is opening “R.U.N” at Luxor on Oct. 24, a $40 million project that is the company’s seventh Strip production, and first to open in Las Vegas since “Michael Jackson One” premiered at Mandalay Bay in 2013.
But the company has plans — under its corporate umbrella — for the former Bank Nightclub space at Bellagio. Expect a production from The Works Entertainment, founded by Simon Painter and Tim Lawson, under the working title “CaBARet,” to open next spring.
The Works is also the company that brought “The Naked Magicians” to Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club at MGM Grand, and also “Circus 1903” to Paris Theater in 2017. Cirque acquired The Works in February.
The new show is to feature a cast of 12-15 beautiful people stationed at a central bar that turns into a stage. Expect specialty acts and a lot of comedy, and also a cool hang afterward. John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His PodKats! podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/ podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.