Taking on challenges with wide-eyed enthusiasm and effervescent charm

Taking on challenges with wide-eyed enthusiasm and effervescent charm

Kris Reyes: Co-host of Global News’s The Morning Show

(First in a series of Filipino success stories in Canadian mainstream media.)

Kris Reyes: Your Morning Host

By Beatrice S. Paez

A walk for Kris Reyes is a different kind of meditation. There are moments when she finds herself wondering about a passing stranger’s story. Impossibly curious at a young age — to the point of being quite nosy, Reyes has always had an insatiable hunger to learn even the seemingly banal details in people’s lives.

Her innate curiosity to understand the inner workings of things and to search for an explanation, that which often makes for great journalism, made being a journalist a natural fit.

“I think we’re all curious to a certain extent, but maybe, we don’t act on it as much,” said Reyes, who co-hosts Global News’s The Morning Show. “But I think journalists are definitely drawn to the business because they want to see behind the scenes.”

More than a decade earlier, Reyes was already moving swiftly between different scenes. One of her first gigs was writing features for The Philippine Reporter, where she remembers penning a profile on a Filipino pianist. At the same time, she also had a front seat to the political caucuses in Washington D.C. as an intern at CNN.

The exhaustive search for paid opportunities was a hard run for Reyes, as for many millennial journalists today. The obligatory year of unpaid internships was almost as inescapable, as a route to freelance and, eventually a full-time position.

“I didn’t think about whether I could afford something or not,” she said. “I sort of didn’t limit myself in those early years. I kept looking for experience.”

Settling for anything less than working in journalism was not an option, even if it meant bracing herself for the tough slog ahead.

Savvy in navigating the hoops of freelance gigs, she chased down an opportunity to report on-air for an affiliate in CTV Winnipeg. There was only one possible response when the chance came — to pack a suitcase and rearrange her life.

Initially living off a minimum wage salary, and with no ties to the place, she made a temporary home for herself in the dormitory of a Christian college. Adjusting to the bitterly cold winter was one feat; another was getting over the feeling of isolation in an unfamiliar city. The strength in her determination kept those emotions from overwhelming her experience.

“It’s important to push through these feelings, especially if you’re pursuing something you want,” said Reyes.

Within just a couple of years, she found her way back home in Toronto, reporting this time for CityTV. The network became her home for the next six years, there she dabbled in everything to round out her skills, anchoring, hosting and producing for different programs.

Out of all the stories that she pursued, one continues to leave a deep impression, as it speaks to the life-changing impact journalism can have at the individual level. The story of a family’s struggle to purchase a wheelchair accessible van, after a devastating accident, turned into an opportunity to connect them to someone who could help.

“I aired that story with that intention in mind,” said Reyes. “By the third airing of the story, someone had called and said, I know that woman, I’d really love to raise money for her.”

Until now, the family continues to express gratitude for her work in bringing the story into public view. It is narratives like these that remind her why she got into journalism.

Always eyeing the next challenge, after six years, Reyes outgrew her role at CityTV, and was “itching” to travel. “I had learned everything I could possibly learn in that space,” she explained. “I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to go to another station. I wasn’t looking for a job.”

For five months, she traversed Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and parts of Asia with her husband. Taking that break and leaving her job ended up opening doors for Reyes, who returned energized and ready to take on new, unexpected challenges.

She was just beginning to settle into her new job at CBC, when the offer to co-host The Morning Show came knocking out of nowhere.

“It offered a unique opportunity to be part of something brand new,” Reyes explained of her decision to join The Morning Show. “I was going to be one of the principal players. It was going to be built around us.”

Conversational in tone, the show opens itself up to the discussion of hot button issues. The dialogue can swing from interviewing a child celebrity to weighing in on parenting issues. Working largely without a script, the program has given Reyes a new challenge, something she had been pining for before taking off on her travel adventure.

With her effervescent charm and uninhibited interest in connecting with people from all walks of life, it’s no surprise that Reyes has worked her way into an enviable position. The wide-eyed enthusiasm she had as a young reporter still carries through in her work as a host.

“On any given day, different things are thrown at you,” said Reyes about working on the show. “It was challenging…but you just have to be patient with yourself.”

What does Reyes hope to set her sights on next? “I just want to enjoy the show,” she said. “For the first time I’m trying not to think about that.”