mikemcguff.com: Rebecca Spera leaves KTRK abc13

Afternoon traffic anchor and reporter Rebecca Spera decides not to renew her abc13 KTRK contract

UPDATE MAY 8, 2018
Rebecca Spera announces she is the national spokesperson for blendSMART - a maker of makeup tools. She also told mikemcguff.com there will be more announcements coming.

ORIGINAL POST
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Rebecca Spera has decided not to renew her contract with abc13 KTRK. See the other Houston TV reporter I wrote about leaving earlier today.

The afternoon traffic anchor and reporter has been on maternity leave and was scheduled to return to work this week. BTW, she named her new bundle of joy Dean.

It just so happened that Spera's channel 13 contract ran out while she was on leave. She was scheduled to return this week, but the mother of a two year old and two month old, realized her priorities lay elsewhere at this point in her life.

"When you work in TV news, it's a lot of hours, it's full dedication, and you have to be all in, and you have to love every second of it," Spera said. "And I had to take a second and sit back and look at my life and decide if I wanted that life for myself anymore. Did I want to work fixed hours that were long. Did I want to miss trick-or-treating? Did I want to miss dinner with my kids every night? And I didn't want to have to sign another long term contract where I didn't know what my life was going to be like in a couple of years."

It sounds like she might be working with channel 13 in a part-time manner in the future. Also, reading between the lines here, it also sounds like she might be working as a marketer/influencer.

If anyone in Houston TV is capable of making that transition, it's Spera.

Before becoming the station's traffic anchor, she was the host of Mirror/Mirror, a show focusing on beauty and fashion, on the Disney ABC Television Group station's shuttered Live Well Network. She seems to have built up quite a fan-base from that experience and forged relationships around town with businesses she covered.

Before Mirror/Mirror, Spera worked as a producer and contributor on KHOU 11's Great Day Houston with Deborah Duncan.

The New Jersey native earned a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Communications at La Salle University in Philadelphia.

Here is the goodbye message Spera posted on Facebook.

After a lot of thinking, soul-searching, and praying, I made the decision to not renew my TV contract with ABC13 and spend more time with my growing family. I'm so grateful for the nine + years I spent at the station and am incredibly thankful for all of my managers, coworkers, guests, and especially YOU the viewers. Telling your stories and sharing life and beauty tips with you for nearly a decade has been a privelege and an honor, and I truly couldn't be more grateful to you.

I do love working, but I wanted a career where I could make my own hours and be home more with my boys. What's next? I'll be announcing my plans this week at my new Facebook page, Rebecca Spera.

Thank you again for nearly a decade of wonderful memories!