Best News Anchor

In the delightfully ephemeral world of television news, most female anchors rely on two God-given gifts: girl-next-door beauty and the uncanny ability to unleash a vacuous giggle on the male co-anchor's cue. A notable exception to the rule is NBC 6's Emmy-winning Jackie Nespral, whose dark good looks are rivaled only by her wit and drive. Nespral, a South Florida native who attended the University of Miami and Florida International University, started her journalism career in Spanish-language news as a reporter for Television Marti and later as an anchor for Univision's Noticias y Mas. That experience allowed her to become television news' Hispanic Jackie Robinson when, in 1991, she was chosen to anchor NBC's Weekend Today. Fortunately, Nespral's South Florida roots continued to tug at her from New York, so she returned and can now be seen anchoring NBC 6's 5 p.m., 6 p.m., and 11 p.m. weekday newscasts with the professionalism and charisma of a groundbreaker. Readers' Choice: Dwight Lauderdale, WPLG-TV (Channel 10)