"She was first runner-up to Miss California in 1998, studied opera at UCLA, and in addition to her TV stationjob in Palm Springs, has worked covering war in the Balkans."
Marina Jurica
Greetings Kentucky! When I first came to visit the Bluegrass state I knew that it would be a perfect home away from
home for me and it has become just that. I grew up in Vancouver, Canada and have always loved the four seasons, and
have missed those living in Southern California for the past decade. I am a first generation American, my ENTIRE family
is Croatian. Growing up in a Croatian home and French immersion school, I became tri-lingual quickly.
OUR CROATIAN PRIDE
I received a music scholarship to attend UCLA, and since Bruin blood runs deep in my family I decided it was the school
for me. In my four years at UCLA, I worked on the school newspaper "The Bruin" and had the opportunity to intern at
CNN, the Los Angeles Times, and the Vancouver Sun. Half way through my music major, I became very interested in
broadcast journalism so I added a second major in Sociology, with an emphasis on mass communications. During this
time I also won the title of Miss Los Angeles in 1998 and was first runner-up in the Miss California Pageant.
Upon graduation I signed a contract at Channel One News in Los Angeles as a reporter. One of my first stories at the
station was to go to the Balkans and cover the war in '99, focusing on the liberation of Kosovo, the aftermath of the NATO
air strikes on Yugoslavia, and the re-building of Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina. I then moved on to KMIR-TV in Palm
Springs, California where I was a general assignment reporter. I had the opportunity to cover many political events,
interviewing former presidents George Bush and Gerald Ford, Senator John McCain, and Congresswoman Mary Bono.
After almost a decade in California, my husband and I wanted a change. Lexington was the change we were looking for
and God blessed us in ways we did not expect. I became very interested in becoming a meteorologist and when the
opportunity arose, I was thrilled to take the morning show weather position here and begin the process of going back to
school to get my meteorology degree. I look forward to waking you up every morning!
WKYT-TV
2851 Winchester Rd.
Lexington, Ky 40509
http://www.wkyt.com/Global/story.asp?S=1000006&nav=4CAMCCVFrts
Brian Collins update
With WKYT's Brian Collins missing from the air over the past week, viewers have started wondering where the veteran
meteorologist has been.
"Brian has taken some personal leave time, and we expect him back soon," said WKYT news director Jim Ogle. He
declined to elaborate.
Meanwhile, filling in for Collins is Marina Jurica, a journalist with an interesting background. She was first runner-up to
Miss California in 1998, studied opera at UCLA, and in addition to her TV station job in Palm Springs, has worked
covering war in the Balkans.
"She can sing in three languages" (English, French and Italian), Ogle laughed, "and I can barely say hello in two."
