Jodine M. Costanzo is an American television news reporter in Pittsburgh and a former television news anchor in Cleveland, Chicago and Pittsburgh.

Early life and education

A native of Pittsburgh, Costanzo graduated from South Park High SchoolSouth Park, Pennsylvania

South Park Township, Pennsylvania

South Park Township is located in the southern part of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, near Pittsburgh. The population was 13,416 at the 2010 census.A large portion of the township is covered by a county park of the same name...

. She earned a degree in communications from Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Indiana University of Pennsylvania is a public university in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, USA. The university is northeast of Pittsburgh. It is the largest university in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and is the commonwealth's fifth largest university...

.

During college, Costanzo was an intern at KDKA-TV

KDKA-TV

KDKA-TV, channel 2, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. KDKA-TV broadcasts from a transmitter located in the Perry North neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and its studios are located in downtown Pittsburgh at Gateway Center....

 in Pittsburgh.

Professional career

Costanzo began her broadcasting career working for WDTV

WDTV

WDTV is the CBS-affiliated television station for North-Central West Virginia licensed to Weston. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 5 from a transmitter in an unincorporated area between Clarksburg and Arlington. The station can also be seen on Comcast, Suddenlink, and...

-TV in Clarksburg, West Virginia

Clarksburg, West Virginia

Clarksburg is a city in and the county seat of Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, in the north-central region of the state. It is the principal city of the Clarksburg, WV Micropolitan Statistical Area...

. She later joined WDTN

WDTN

WDTN, virtual channel 2, is the NBC-affiliated television station for Ohio's Miami Valley. Licensed to Dayton, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 50 from a transmitter in the Frytown section of the city. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 2 and in...

-TV in Dayton, Ohio

Dayton, Ohio

Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...

.

In early 1992, Costanzo was hired as a reporter at WKYC-TV

WKYC-TV

WKYC, virtual channel 3 , is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Cleveland, Ohio, owned by the Gannett Company. Its studio is located on the shores of Lake Erie, while its transmitter is located in Parma, Ohio....

 in Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

. She eventually became the co-anchor of a revived noon news program until leaving the station in 1996 to take a job in Chicago.

In August 1996, Costanzo joined WBBM-TV

WBBM-TV

WBBM-TV, virtual channel 2 , is the CBS owned-and-operated television station in Chicago, Illinois. WBBM-TV's main studios and offices are located in The Loop section of Chicago, as part of the development at Block 37, and its transmitter is atop the Willis Tower.-History:WBBM-TV traces its history...

 in Chicago as an early morning news anchor, co-anchoring with Joan Lovett

Joan Lovett

Joan M. Lovelace , known professionally as Joan Lovett, is a former American television news anchor.- Early life and education :...

. In November 1996, Costanzo shifted to full-time reporting for WBBM.

In March 1998, Costanzo joined WPXI

WPXI

WPXI, channel 11, is the NBC-affiliated television station for Western Pennsylvania that is licensed to Pittsburgh. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 48 from a transmitter located on the north side of Pittsburgh. Owned by Cox Enterprises, the station has studios in the...

-TV in Pittsburgh as a weekend anchor and reporter. After five years as an anchor, she stepped down as a full-time anchor at the end of June 2003 and shifted to full-time reporting. "I walk away with a heavy heart because I enjoy anchoring the weekends, but I really want to spend more time with my son," she told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette at the time. "That's where my priorities are right now."

Personal

Costanzo and her husband, Richard L. "Rick" Downey, have two children and live in Pittsburgh.

In 1997 and 1998, before she was married, Costanzo was romantically linked to WBBM-TV weather forecaster (now with CBS' The Early Show

The Early Show

The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...

) Dave Price, according to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times that was published on February 11, 1998.

External links

• WPXI-TV Profile