2010 Conference Speakers

Rolonda Watts

Journalist, Talk Show Host, Actor, Producer, Novelist, and Voice-over Talent

Rolonda Watts began her television career as a local CBS news reporter in Greensboro, North Carolina, before moving on to larger markets. She landed a reporting and anchoring job at the New Jersey Network, becoming part of one of the first duo-women anchor teams in the country. While there, she was selected for the cover of New Jersey Monthly Magazine as "a person to watch." She then moved on to the Big Apple, joining WNBC-TV news team, where she also anchored the local morning news cut-ins for the "Today Show." While at WNBC-TV, Ro received an Emmy nomination for her "Live Spot News Coverage" of a deadly train crash. She later moved on to WABC-TV “Eyewitness News” in New York to anchor, report, and moderate "Eyewitness News Conference," the station's weekly political forum.

Ready to spread her wings outside of local news, Ro gained national exposure and attention when she became host of Lifetime Television’s talk show, “Attitudes.” There, she received a Cable Ace nomination for “Best Talk Show.” After that, the award-winning journalist went on to tackle news around the world, joining the “Inside Edition” news magazine team as senior correspondent, weekend anchor, and producer. One international lead story took Ro to Iceland where she investigated the growing teenage alcoholism problem there.

But Rolonda got the big break of her life when TV tycoon Roger King of King World Productions made her an offer she couldn’t refuse – her very own internationally syndicated talk show. Using the talker as her platform, Rolonda helped get kids out of gangs, kept families together, prevented suicides, and even stood by a teenage mom who went into labor on her set. Rolonda is still known for the dignity she brought to talk TV and the integrity she continues to give to life stories. Refusing to fall into the sleaze pattern of talk TV at the time, Rolonda decided to instead take off to Hollywood where she discovered a plethora of other unique talents, skills, and careers.

Rolonda brought "The Ro Show" to radio, working with Gloria Steinam and Jane Fonda in launching Greenstone Media Network for women.

Ro also hosted a television reality show, called "Lie Detector" for PAX-TV.

She currently hosts an Internet talk show, called "A BraveHearTView." Bringing conscious TV to the Internet.

And, Rolonda is proud to call herself a novelist now, having just completed her first romance novel, entitled, Destiny Lingers.