Columbus Monthly / June 2012 / New at 11

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New at 11

Kristyn Hartman gets ready to take the legendary anchor seat at Channel 10

Kristyn Hartman is doing her best to make sure she’s familiar to viewers long before she takes over the 10TV anchor chair this month. 

Hartman, who joined the broadcast team on April 26, spent her first six weeks at WBNS visiting neighborhoods, community leaders and residents, and reporting on everything from heroin in Grove City to the return home of the Zanesville exotic animals.

But on June 4, she will finally assume the job for which she was hired: sitting opposite Jerry Revish in the anchor seat previously occupied by the legendary Andrea Cambern.

“I know I cannot fill her shoes,” Hartman said. “But I can take the baton from her and run with it the best way I know how.”

A striking blonde with cornflower blue eyes and a bright, engaging smile, Hartman moved into her new German Village home from Chicago, where she was an anchor and reporter for WBBM CBS2. It was the same station she watched growing up in Hickory Hills, Ill., and where she interned while studying radio, television and film at Northwestern University.

Graduation took her west to Joplin, Mo., before moving to Charlotte; Peoria, Ill.; Phoenix and back to Chicago. And she never stopped pursuing her dream: “To be on the desk, in the right place, with the right group of people, and in the right community.”

She says she found all of that in Central Ohio.

“The people of Columbus are its most valuable commodity,” she said. “They are some of the kindest people I have ever met. There is such a vibe in this city. This is an exciting place to be.”

Hartman, who brings to the city her web developer husband, Chris, and pointer/lab mix Roxy, said 10TV’s strong reputation, family values and market dominance attracted her to the position. She knew it was the job for her when she learned she could pursue all of her passions: anchoring, reporting and philanthropy.

“What we looked for is somebody to come in with a strong background as a journalist and somebody well-grounded as a citizen,” said 10TV news manager Elbert Tucker. “We found that in Kristyn. She is passionate about reporting. She is passionate about news. She is passionate about the community.”

To that end, Hartman will use her position to advance the fight against pediatric cancer, as well as support Habitat for Humanity and pet adoptions.

And she already learned the most important aspect of moving to Columbus. “I will definitely be a Buckeye fan,” she said with a smile.