Cyndy Brucato
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Cyndy Brucato is a Minneapolis-St.Paul news anchor who got her start at WDIO-TV in Duluth, Minnesota. During the late 1970s, Brucato garnered respect as a hard hitting, no-nonsense reporter at WCCO-TV in Minneapolis, followed by WBBM-TV in Chicago. Amid much fanfare, KSTP-TV brought her back to Minnesota in 1979 as a news co-anchor alongside Ron Magers. They were the Twin Cities' top-rated news team--an era unparalled at the station. After Magers' departure in 1981, Cyndy was paired with Stan Turner for most of the next five years, with a short stint sitting next to Bob Vernon.
In 1986, Brucato sought a news anchor position in Boston. Although a move never transpired, KSTP management decided to pull Cyndy off-air for the months remaining on her contract. After her non-compete agreement with Channel 5 expired, Brucato briefly moved to KARE in 1987. She had featured reports under the heading 'Cyndy's Notebook'.
From 1990-1996 she served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Director of Communications and Press Secretary for Minnesota Republican Governor Arne H. Carlson. She also served as Director of Communications for the Minnesota Department of Transportation and as Communications Director for Republican Norm Coleman.
During the next eight years, Brucato was President and Chief Consultant of Brucato & Halliday Ltd., a Minnesota-based public relations company. Her business was certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, the nation’s leading advocate of women-owned businesses.
In 2004, after an 18-year absence from the station, Cyndy made a surprise return to the KSTP-TV anchor desk. Her comeback had been preceded by a guest appearance as a fill-in sportscaster, at Sports Director Joe Schmit's request. Management then decided to rehire her for a news anchor position.
While Brucato's return only caused an initial bump in the ratings, her greater significance has been to add insight and depth to the news desk, which has many newer personalities in the market. Brucato has also given public support for the Hubbard family.
During her first year back at Channel 5, Cyndy anchored the 10:00 p.m. news until a new main anchor team was in place. She currently anchors the 6:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. news, at which time she files daily reports titled '5 People Making News'.
