San Antonio ‘Survivor’ alum lands new anchor jobs

TV anchorwoman Rita Verreos of San Antonio said her news image will appear on billboards and buses in New Mexico. TV anchorwoman Rita Verreos of San Antonio said her news image will appear on billboards and buses in New Mexico. Photo: Eric Karr Photography Photo: Eric Karr Photography Image 1 of / 77 Caption Close San Antonio ‘Survivor’ alum lands new anchor jobs 1 / 77 Back to Gallery

Her grueling competitions on CBS’ “Survivor” seem like child’s play compared to the taxing challenges San Antonio’s Rita Verreos faces with her new TV anchor jobs.

Verreos, who many know from her castaway days on “Survivor: Fiji,” season 14, a little more than a decade ago, has been busy the past 10 years handling various television and radio duties in different markets — Miami, Corpus, Fort Lauderdale.

Still, it’s hard to imagine her being quite as busy as she is now.

Recently, Verreos started solo-anchoring the weekday 10 p.m. news on two Telemundo stations — in Lubbock and Santa Fe-Albuquerque.

RELATED: San Antonio stars you can catch on midseason TV

How does Verreos manage to anchor in two different markets at the same hour every night?

The time difference helps. Lubbock is on central standard time, while the two New Mexico cities are on mountain time, an hour earlier.

Verreos said she does both newscasts from the KXTQ-TV studios in Lubbock, her home base as of January.

“I’m so excited to return to my home state of Texas to be closer to my elderly parents (who live in San Antonio), and my son, Alain, a UTSA junior, whom I’m so very proud of,” Verreos said in a phone chat.

RELATED: Eva Longoria returns to series TV

As anchor of three newscasts, two at 10 p.m., one at 5 p.m., she introduces each market’s stories, which are handled by reporters in the respective markets. The late newscasts require the most stamina — and juggling. She starts on Lubbock’s KXTQ. When that half-hour finishes, she quickly prepares for anchoring on KASA-TV, which serves Albuquerque, Santa Fe and other New Mexico cities, and features a whole other set of reporters.

Verreos was hired by Ramar Communications, which owns both stations.

When she can, she zips over to San Antono to see her son as well as her mom and dad. Also, at least once a month, she commutes to Florida, the site of her last job, as host of an iHeartRadio program, and where her husband lives and her daughter attends high school.

To keep her energy up and her weight down, the former model and World Car TV spokesperson said she never skips a meal and works out religiously for 45 minutes a day.

RELATED: KENS-TV anchor resigns

It seems to be working. At 49, Verreos weighs in at a trim 140 pounds, her ideal weight for her 5-foot-8 frame.

The bilingual Verreos may even get busier, she hinted. Her Telemundo stations’ parent company also owns Lubbock Fox affiliate KJTV, and there’s a possibility she may be handling that station’s English-language news as well.

“So I may be anchoring in two languages in the future,” she said. “Stay tuned.”

Her dream job? A full-time anchor post on TV in San Antonio, the city she still calls home.

jjakle@express-news.net