Gianna Galli’s scene: WBRE-WYOU reporter is a Greater Pittston native

WILKES-BARRE — If you tune in to WBRE/WYOU to catch the early morning news show with co-hosts Tom Williams and Gianna Galli, you would believe the duo have been partners for at least a decade, when in fact, it has only been a few months since being paired together.

Williams, an award-winning journalist and anchor, has been in front of Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania viewers for over 30 years, ending up at WBRE/WYOU in 2023 to take over co-host duties at the morning show with Kelly Byrne.

At the same time and year Williams was hired, Galli, a newbie to the television industry, was hired as a field reporter.

Over the next two years, Galli, 25, honed her skills as a reporter, gaining respect amongst her peers for her approach to reporting. In just a short period of time, her storytelling became precise, professional, and natural.

She covered a multitude of subjects including: local news, community events, public-interest stories, crime, social issues, environment, and occasionally sports.

The most remarkable twist to Galli’s story is that she never intended to go into television reporting; in fact, she wanted to be a sports print journalist, something she had done while a student at Penn State University, Main Campus, studying broadcast journalism/communications.

The 2018 Pittston Area graduate said she was influenced by her journalism teacher, Mrs. Amy Saunders.

“We had news at Pittston Area, but it was a lighthearted morning news thing with Mrs. Saunders,” Galli admitted. “She was a lot of the reason why I got into journalism. She said my writing was pretty good and I should study it more.”

Galli said she wasn’t interested in TV, but did have visions of being an ESPN/NFL sideline reporter, but wasn’t sure how she would attain that goal.

Once she entered Penn State, all of her journalism studies involved writing and nothing in broadcasting.

“I did try out for the PSN-TV (Penn State Network TV), a student-run TV station at Penn State, and I had my tonsils out and my audition was horrible and thought I’m never going to do anything in TV,” Galli said. “So, I started writing for The Daily Collegian, a student-run newspaper. I did all sports as a beat writer including football, soccer, volleyball, wrestling and eventually I became an assistant editor in my junior year.”

In her last year at PSU, she took an interest in shooting still photos while covering sports.

Over her four-year collegiate career, she gained a great deal of confidence with her writing.

“I knew I always wanted to do something bigger than myself and it gave me a feeling of being able to spotlight the things I can see what’s happening in front of me,” Galli confessed. “Writing those stories about all those athletes not only gave me a connection to them, but it just felt bigger than doing anything else and that was a big thing for my personal growth.”

She went on to say not only did gain confidence in her abilities, but it shaped her values she wanted for herself such as integrity.

After graduating from PSU in 2022, she had health issues to deal with along with transitioning from college to being back home after four years of being away.

“At that time, I didn’t want to go into journalism, and I decided to study for law school,” Galli disclosed. “I took my LSATs (Law School Admission Test) twice, doing my prep for six months prior, and I did well on the LSATs, but I was still dealing with things health-wise, so I didn’t want to go away for three more years, but yet, I didn’t want to sit home and do nothing.”

Being confused and lost at that period of time was something Galli just chalked up to being at that stage of life after college.

Eventually, she pointed her attention back to what she knew best — journalism.

“I thought I’ll just get a job in journalism, but I didn’t know if it would be for the paper or TV so I applied for two positions at WBRE, an MMJ (multimedia journalist) and a photographer,” Galli recalled. “I didn’t really know the difference between the two but applied anyway.”

Shortly after applying, she received a call from WBRE News Director Eric Nazarenus asking if she was interested in an interview.

“Eric asked me to come in for an interview, but he wasn’t sure which job I was interested in because I applied for two spots,” Galli said, chuckling. “During the interview, things went well, I immediately liked the place, and when I left the studio, I felt that confidence again in almost a place like home.”

Oddly enough, Galli said she had zero experience putting a news story for TV together, reading off a teleprompter, or having a lot of experience working a video camera. She didn’t even have an audition tape for her interview, but yet, she got hired.

She feels it was fate and being in the right place at the right time along with Nazarenus seeing something in her to give her a shot.

Galli said over the two years as a field reporter, she really enjoyed reporting hard news, crime stories, and breaking news. “That was my scene, I love that stuff,” Galli confessed.

After being hired and working the evening shift, Galli recalls thinking she was glad she never had to work the morning shift, it wasn’t her preference.

“I never wanted to work at 3 a.m. and look where we are, three years later,” Galli said. “And now I’m with Tom, who I came in with, ironically.”

“I wasn’t sure what to expect, because Gianna was a reporter,” Williams said, on Galli taking over at the morning anchor desk. “She has stepped in and filled in without missing a beat, she’s totally terrific. She’s super natural (on camera), and the viewers have responded and really love her. We have not missed a beat on the morning show since Gianna joined.”

Williams said Galli is like a sponge, learning and absorbing new things daily.

“She picks up on something new every day, and she’s willing to learn, and that’s the most important thing,” he said. “She takes advice, she takes constructive criticism and she’s not just another pretty face reading the news. She wants to put on the best newscast every day and that’s a credit to her. She’s not only a colleague, but she’s become a friend.”

Galli said she had developed her on-air reporting style through observation of other local and national TV reporters.

“I grew up in a household that watched the news; my parents watched every newscast, and I’ve always seen how people delivered the news,” Galli said. “It just translated easily for m,e and I just mimicked doing that; if I watch national reporters, I just think of them when I’m doing my on-air spot.”

Galli also credits her past and current co-workers at WBRE/WYOU for their guidance and advice in molding her craft, especially in her delivery.

“It comes down to just talking, so I don’t even think it’s reading, it’s just like having a conversation with someone, except I’m talking into a camera,” Galli said. “I never wanted to sound newsy and not authentic.”

Now that she’s settled into her three-year contract at the anchor desk at the morning show with Tom Williams, she still has a lot to learn in anchoring.

“I’ve become one of the more experienced reporters at WBRE, and now I have to learn all over again at the desk,” she said. “I’m relearning everything from the pros like Tom every day. So, a part of me feels like I’m back to the beginning.”

In addition to doing the morning co-anchoring, she and Williams do the noon news as well and podcasts on 2822 Now.

The Pittston Twp. native and resident said she’s in a good place in life and career, looking forward to the next three years.

You can follow Galli on social media at Twitter: @giannagalli84, Instagram: @itsagiannathing and Facebook: @GiannaGalli.