Meet Jaime Cerreta of Arizona’s Family: KTVK 3TV and KPHO CBS 5 in Phoenix

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jaime Cerreta.

Jaime, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
The pen aisle at Smitty’s or checking out the microphones at Radio Shack. Those were two places you could find me as a little girl. I would soon find I loved to write and was naturally curious. A six day a week hobby of dance would teach me to perform. By high school’s end, I knew I was going to be a Broadcast Journalist.

I saw TV News as a way to commit to a community, be responsible for getting the facts and bringing them to the people and give them the information they needed for their lives, their families and a little fun as well.

I graduated from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Broadcast Journalism. I took my first on-air job in Joplin, MO as a one man band reporter. I then moved to Springfield, MO as a producer/morning anchor, Beaumont, TX as morning anchor/reporter/editor, and Oklahoma City as the primetime evening anchor. I stayed there for 7 years and LOVED my time in OKC. But I was waiting for my hometown to call. Then it did.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Phoenix was the dream. The journey of getting here was not. I can tell you of lonely nights, really bad on-air stumbles, black holes in packages I edited and just overall nervousness. I’ve been in hurricanes, blizzards, very close to tornadoes and– if you want to laugh– Google “Jaime, dust storm”. Those were just the on-air trials. There is the journey of packing up your stuff every couple years, knowing every job is temporary as you look for that next role; having to say “maybe I’ll emcee your event, go on that vacation, etc.” to new friends or boyfriends because you just don’t know. I’ve worked with some difficult people through the years, I’ve had people try to hurt me both inside and outside of the workplace because of what I did– either from jealousy because I got the job they wanted or assumptions that “I thought I was cool because I was on TV”, and they were going to make sure I knew I wasn’t. I always knew I wasn’t. I was just a woman on a mission. I wanted to tell good stories, I wanted to be good at my work and I wanted to do it with all my heart for the people who watch me. I still do. <3

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I have a passion for the people. I just love them! And I love it when they show me THEIR PASSIONS. Many people know my grandfather founded the 51-year old Cerreta Candy Company in Glendale. My grandfather, grandmother, father, uncles, aunts and cousins worked tirelessly to make the family business succeed. That diligence and pursuit of passion is my inspiration for my franchise, Jaime’s Local Love. Every Wednesday, in the 8 and 9 am hours of Good Morning Arizona on KTVK 3TV, I am telling the story of a person, their passion and their product. From the guy who quit his mortgage career to make his family’s salsa– and he’s killing it!! (Los Muertos Salsa)– to the woman who I can always count on for a hug and a burrito at 7 am (Irma’s Kitchen). I am so grateful to Arizona’s Family for letting me tell these stories. The people and their homegrown businesses create a beautiful, unique city that we get to call our home.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I love this question. Success should be personally defined. I think fighting through the struggle is a success. Simply being HAPPY is a success. Can you be happy when you don’t have much or only when you “have it all”? I read once, you can have it all but maybe not all at one time. I love that. I love that I can have a busy, what some would perceive as successful career right now then maybe win the lottery and do live stream updates on my whale watching trip from a yacht somewhere.

So what is success to me? Choosing happiness every day, pursuing your passion with aplomb, paying your bills on time, loving your friends and family, creating healthy boundaries, loving yourself and treating yourself with the kindness you offer others and with grace when it’s hard.

I think in my 20’s, I would have said a Monday- Friday anchor job in Phoenix.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.azfamily.com
• Email: jcerreta@azfamily.com
• Instagram: @cerretanews
• Facebook: Jaime Cerreta
• Twitter: @cerretanews

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