September/October 2005

The Dinnertime Diva

Thousands of Hampton Roads Viewers Welcome WVEC-TV13 News Anchor Regina Mobley Into Their Homes Each Evening

By Michael Jon Khandelwal

Regina Mobley sits in her sunny office at WVEC-TV13 surrounded by lush plants, colorful walls she had painted peach, golf memorabilia and old drawings by her daughters, Renee and Carmen.

She smiles broadly as she speaks and occasionally jumps out of her chair to make an excited point. Mobley, 44, began her career in journalism at WNIS-AM before moving to WTKR-TV 3 as a reporter in 1985 and then to her home since 1992, WVEC-TV13. After anchoring newscasts in various time slots, Mobley became the station’s main female anchor. Now, she co-anchors the 5, 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts. In May 2004, Mobley and the WVEC team beat long-time competitor WAVY-TV 10 in the ratings during the 5, 5:30 and 6 p.m. news, giving the station the most-watched evening newscast in Hampton Roads. Now, more than a year later, WVEC remains number one in the highly competitive ratings game.

Born in Norfolk but now residing in southern Virginia Beach, Mobley has been honored several times for excellence in reporting, but what inspires her most is the health of her family. Renee survived cancer as a young child, and more recently, the whole family took part in a healthy living challenge recently profiled in ESSENCE magazine.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Parenting. I’ve had a lot of help, but I’ve reared two healthy children—that is my most significant accomplishment.

What would you most like to accomplish in the future?

I’d like to continue working at WVEC and spearhead some major station projects on health and fitness, where we would give our viewers information on how to improve their health and follow their success stories.

What natural gift would you most like to possess?

I want to be able to sing the way Whitney Houston sings. I’d be the well-adjusted Whitney Houston.

For more from Regina, see the September/October 2005 issue of Hampton Roads Magazine, currently available on newsstands.