“Does that mean you’ve arrived?” quips Pereira, flashing a smile at New Day’s beaming co-hosts on Monday’s inaugural edition of CNN’s hotly hyped new morning show that airs live from New York 6 to 9 a.m. EST weekdays (3 to 6 a.m. PST).
Actually, the vivacious Saskatoon-born TV personality who got her start in 1994 at CHEK TV, notably as co-host of CHEK Around with Gordie Tupper, had already arrived before ascending to the holy grail of broadcast journalism.
“A lot of caffeine, and a lot of training,” laughs Pereira, recalling her nine years as popular co-anchor of Los Angeles’s top-rated KTLA Morning News, when asked this week how she meets New Day’s dizzying challenges..
The former University of Victoria student who once modelled, mowed lawns, worked in a cardiology clinic and “made a fierce sandwich” at Sam’s Deli, says it also helped having experience with a startup.
Before anchoring the technology news program TechLive at San Francisco’s TechTV in 2001, the newscaster hosted Internet Tonight on ZDTV there. She caught the attention of Roger Ebert, the late film critic and tech geek who invited her to be guest host and Internet correspondent for Ebert & The Movies — all stepping stones to CNN.
“All three of us and the people behind the scenes do TV, so you just put it all together and remember to stay in your lane,” Pereira said, explaining how they can breeze through New Day with apparent ease.
It’s 1:30 p.m. and Pereira, who has been up for 12 hours, says she’ll probably “hit the wall” in an hour.
On Monday’s fast-paced première, Pereira displayed winning chemistry with Cuomo and Bolduan as they exchanged quips. Her newscast included items on Russian President Vladimir Putin being accused of stealing a Super Bowl ring from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft; and a father who reunited after 24 years in Phoenix, Ariz., with the daughter he had put up for adoption.
“I’m an adopted kid,” Pereira, 42, told the co-hosts. “These kinds of stories hit close to home.”
(Pereira, whose biological father was Jamaican, is the youngest of five daughters adopted by the Thomsons — Doug, a retired civil servant, and Ainslie, a retired schoolteacher. The Thomsons live on Vancouver Island, as do some of her adoptive sisters. She also lived in Uranium City, Sask., Red Deer, Alta., and attended high school in 100 Mile House before moving to Victoria.)
On Monday, Pereira also delivered a bizarre story about a 68-year-old man with a tattoo of his bikini-clad girlfriend, 28, pushing a lawnmower on his bald spot; and shared Cuomo’s compassion for Miss Utah, widely ridiculed for fumbling an answer to a question during the Miss USA contest.
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed we live in a glass house,” said Pereira, looking around the huge polished wood, brick and glass set.
“The set sings on TV but it’s even more impressive in person,” she explained later over the phone.
If her new “TV family” seems tight-knit, it’s because Pereira hung out with them beforehand. Their experiences included a barbecue, fishing expedition, skeet-shooting and one that aired Thursday — their visit, with Pereira’s parents, to a Los Angeles after-school program for inner-city kids where she volunteers.
Acknowledging a steep learning curve, Pereira says she’s building more time into her workday, for now. On Monday, she arrived for hair and makeup at 3:15 a.m.
“I’ve got a great team [including a producer for each anchor] I’m lucky to work with … but I needed to turn off,” she said, explaining why she took a boat tour around Manhattan on Sunday for some downtime.
“I’m a brand-new CNN employee who keeps walking into closets instead of her office,” laughs Pereira. “It’s a gigantic building with so many studios and people bustling around. I’m still trying to figure out where the good coffee comes from.”
Eating properly, getting enough sleep and “spending time with people I love” are key, said Pereira, who tries to retire for the day by 7 p.m.
Calling her CNN gig “a grand surprise,” Pereira, a woman of faith, said she never anticipated her path would take her there.
“I felt for a long time I sort of fell into this,” recalled Pereira, who still cherishes her CHEK years and pal Tupper (“one of my biggest cheerleaders”), who taught her lessons about “moments in TV” she still uses.
“You can’t plan. You can’t script. You just sometimes have to let it breathe.”
One of her biggest thrills was working with Ebert.
“I thought I’d died and gone to heaven,” recalled Pereira, noting Ebert helped her “come out of my shell” and find her own voice. “The thrill of having my little brown thumb next to his and sitting in the balcony with this legend was almost too much.”
As magical as her journey seems, she’s had to make a lot of sacrifices and work hard.
“I have great faith that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”