Ysabel Duron, weekend morning anchor for San Francisco’s KRON, is retiring after more than 42 years in television.
Duron started her career in Los Angeles in 1970 as one of the first Latinas in mainstream TV news. Her last day on air will be April 14, a day she said she picked on purpose. “I celebrate my birthday and the beginning of my encore career,” she told Media Moves.
Duron started at KRON in 1990 when it was an NBC affiliate and became the weekend morning anchor in 1992. Over the course of her career, she has worked for WMAQ in Chicago, KTVU in Oakland, CA, KICU in San Jose, CA, KCST (now KNSD) in San Diego, CA, WBZ in Boston and KPIX in San Francisco with a brief stint at KNXT (now KCBS) in Los Angeles.
She told Media Moves she has been thinking about stepping down from the anchor desk since last year, “I was starting to lose energy and I needed to focus.”
Duron said she plans to devote her time to her non-profit Latinas Contra Cancer, which provides help for low-income Spanish speaking families in Santa Clara County. “Putting my time in Latinas Contra Cancer is of great value. We’re strategically in a position to be advocates and policy leaders on issues of cancer that can help our community.”
A graduate of San Jose State University, Duron was named one of America’s Top 100 Hispanic Women in Communications by Hispanic USA Magazine. She is also a fellow of the National Hispana Leadership Institute in Washington, D.C.