NBC 5 looks to Houston for new morning anchor

Daniella Guzman

Daniella Guzman, a reporter and weekend news anchor from Houston, soon could be the new face of mornings at NBC 5 in Chicago.

After more than five years at KPRC-TV in her native Houston, Guzman is the odds-on favorite to succeed Zoraida Sambolin as anchor of NBC 5 News Today. Sambolin signed off last November to join CNN as co-anchor of Early Start with Ashleigh Banfield.

If all goes as planned, Guzman could start at NBC 5 in early March, insiders said. It’s not clear whether she’ll co-anchor with Rob Elgas or be part of a reconfigured talent lineup from 4:30 to 7am weekdays. There’s talk of shifting Elgas off the morning show to anchor duties later in the day.

Before and after graduating from the University of St. Thomas in Houston with a joint major in communications and Spanish, Guzman held a variety of internships and small jobs at advertising agencies, local stations, Univision, Telemundo, Televisa in Mexico, and the Houston Chronicle.

In August 2006, she landed what she called “the gig I had dreamed of” at NBC affiliate KPRC, where she signed on as a general assignment reporter. She also anchors Saturday night newscasts.

“I didn't exactly follow a straight and narrow path toward TV,” Guzman wrote on her profile. “Along the way I did sales, advertising and marketing to get my foot in the door. I love my job, each day is an adventure, meeting people and listening to their stories. I feel a greater responsibility as a journalist to be of great service to my community and help people understand what's going on in the world around us.”

In 2009, the Houston Press put Guzman at the top of the list of Houston’s hottest female news personalities. Later that year, she was named one of the 15 hottest newswomen in America by Manolith.com.

Thursday update: NBC 5 Chicago confirmed Guzman's hiring as morning news co-anchor, starting in March. “We are pleased to add Daniella to our news team,” Frank Whittaker, station manager and vice president of news, said in a statement. “She will bring a fresh and new perspective to our morning team.  I know our viewers will enjoy getting to know her.”