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Bio
As soon as Blanche learned how to talk she knew she wanted
a career in television. She observed from a young age her parents intently watching the news, and new that television was an important medium for spreading information to the masses.
Yielding a spatula as a microphone,
she would interview people around her San Francisco neighborhood
as a preschooler, putting together stories about earthquakes, street
construction, and local events.She would then set up a podium
made of cardboard and read her newscasts in front of friends and
family.Fast forward years
later, after graduating from UC Berkeley in Political Economy of
Industrial Societies, she hit the ground running to gain on-the-job
television experience.
Blanche began her television track working behind the camera in
1990s,doing production work for ABC, CNN, and PBS while pursuing her Master's degree in Broadcast
Journalism, graduating Magna Cum-Laude at San Francisco State University. In 1996 she received an award from the Associated Press, for her paper on the future of media. In her paper, she described the new world of news where reporters will instantaneously upload news worthy videos from their phones via the web, rendering it more timely than television. In 1998,she
auditioned for and landed the part of host of "Video
i." For ten years as the host Blanche scouted out independent films, covered indie film festivals and interviewed filmmakers, actors, and celebrities.
Simultaneously, In 1999 Blanche became the host and fill-in anchor for the satellite channel Tech-TV (now G4 television). Blanche reported live every hour on high-tech and other news stories
starting at 5:00 a.m. with a final report at 1:00 p.m. She covered
major stories, from the Compaq-HP merger to the September 11 attacks. She gained other clients in the high tech realm at this time, hosting video webcasts for companies that included Akamai Technologies, Google, Siebel, Hewlett Packard and Agilent Technologies. In 2004 Blanche began freelancing for another satellite channel, Link TV. She moderated programs pertaining to politics in the Middle East, interviewed newsmakers, and introduced timely documentaries. She is still a regular contributor to Link TV. Blanche
then took a turn for entertainment reporting after auditioning
for and landing the job of the only fulltime correspondent for
ABC's live program called View
from the Bay. It was there that Blanche began to cultivate
an interest in environmentalism and the culinary arts, producing stories about living green and the restaurant scene in the San Francisco Bay Area. She also interviewed
A-list celebrities from Bruce Willis, Nicholas Cage, Orlando
Bloom and Selma
Hayek,
to illustrious musicians from Harry Connick
Jr., K.D. Lang, and
Rick Springfield. Evident from the fan mail Blanche
has received, viewers delighted in following her on her adventures,
whether getting a lesson on stinky cheese, taking a salsa lesson,
shooting fire from a cannon, or cooking with top Bay Area chefs.
At View
from the Bay, Blanche further cemented her experience in
the live television realm, reporting live on location from festivals,
concerts, and businesses all over the Bay Area.
In 2010, Blanche began her latest project, titled "Feast in the Middle East" where Blanche shares her culinary and historical background through both a cookbook and a television pilot. Although she didn't make it to the finals of the OWN Network's "Your Own Show," she did get the network's attention. Within one week of uploading her cooking video Mark Burnett casting called, saying Blanche exuded "charisma" and wanting to know more about the project. Since then her project has flourished. She is now a food columnist for newspapers, a special correspondent for ifood.tv, a food blogger, and her youtube channel is gaining viewers and subscribers rapidly every week. When she isn't working Blanche is passionate about charity and the arts. She is an active contributor to HealthDonor.com, which provides healthcare to those who cannot afford it. She is also a committee member for Ballet San Jose, and is very passionate and involved in Not for Sale, an organization committed to ending human trafficking and slavery.
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