Phoenix TV anchor has South Bay roots
Journalist traces her career back to fifth- grade query
Tucked away in a file folder in her home in Scottsdale, Nadine Torren Bubeck has papers stretching back to her days at Blossom Hill Elementary School in Los Gatos. The documents clearly foreshadow a life that would be lived in the public eye.
In fifth grade, when she was still Nadine Torren, her teacher asked the class to jot down the professions they saw for themselves. Ten- year- old Torren declared that she would become a news anchor.
During her senior year at Los Gatos High School, the class of 2003 was told to write letters to themselves, predicting where they’d be in five years. Their teacher followed up on that date, mailing the letters to the graduates. Sure enough, Torren was by then pursuing the career in broadcast journalism she’d envisioned.
These days, Mrs. Nate Bubeck makes her professional home as the traffic anchor on KPHO, CBS- 5 in Phoenix. She also writes an internationally syndicated lifestyle blog, and has a book in the works. And last summer, her April nuptials brought Bubeck realityshow fame.
Though few TV wannabes actually realize their dream, Bubeck has logged close to a decade as writer, producer and on- air presenter. Her path to the big leagues has often been an uphill climb — in really good shoes.
Since childhood, Bubeck’s two greatest passions have been writing ( hence, the fi le folder) and public speaking. By the time she had fi nished high school, she resolved to marry the two loves into a single career.
“I decided I could make a job for myself in TV news. So many people grow up thinking they want to be on TV; I decided I would make it happen,” recalls Bubeck.
Exactly 24 hours after receiving her diploma, Bubeck packed up her notebook and stilettoes and hit the road to take her first on- air job. Her destination: KSWT News 13 in Yuma, Ariz. Her pay: $ 8 per hour.
“You gotta start small, and you gotta start somewhere,” Bubeck laughs. For the first several months, the new reporter chased stories across the sizzling desert landscape, sweating through her suits even at 11 p. m. Her diligence paid off: Soon after her hiring, station management announced its intention to air a 4 p. m. newscast. Bubeck, by then just 23, was chosen to anchor the program.
One year to the day after she fi rst hit the Arizona airwaves, she was hired at FOX- 5, a new Fox affiliate in San Diego. And by September of last year Bubeck was part of an anchor desk in Phoenix.