I read over the weekend that Chris Jansing has been named NBC’s White House correspondent. That’s a pretty big deal — and I’d say that it’s easily the most significant thing achieved by anybody who ever worked in Albany TV news.
If you’ve been around for a while you may remember watching Chris on WNYTÂ — if that’s the case, I certainly don’t have to remind you that in those days she went by Chris Kapostasy. There wasn’t a time when my father-in-law didn’t see her on TV and say in his thickly accented English, “Her name means cabbage in Hungarian. Chris Cabbage!”
Chris was the anchor during WNYT’s rise to the top, and during those golden years in the mid to late 1990s I was responsible for the station’s marketing. We had it all going on, and looking back I realize how fortunate I was to be part of that winning team.
People have a hard time believing me when I tell them I wrote and produced thousands of TV spots, but it’s true. Many were forgettable, but this one always felt special to me.
This was in 1996 when the Olympic Torch Relay passed through the area.
We started in Palatine Bridge, me and photographer Tom Wall, leapfrogging ahead of the torch for the whole day as it wound its way to Albany. The money shot was Chris with the torch and Tom nailed it.
I’d say it was one of the best days at work I ever had — and it produced the single most memorable image from my 25 years in TV, Chris running with the torch, waving to the crowd, clearly on her way somewhere.
I always had a crush on her. I remember years ago, maybe 1992, when I would exercise at the old Club East in E Greenbush. She would be there in a white bodysuit. My pulse still skyrockets at the thought! Local girl made good.