From Crime Reporter to Entrepreneur
By Mike Costanza
For nearly 30 years, Rebecca Leclair reported the news from the field and the anchor desk for WHEC-TV. Though she covered all kinds of stories, she particularly enjoyed reporting on local elections and crimes. After leaving the station in 2017, she founded Rebecca Leclair Communications, LLC, a one-person public relations shop that provides a variety of services for its clients.
The Perinton resident talks to 55-PLUS about the path her life has taken.
Q. Why did you decide to seek a career in television journalism?
A. I always was interested in telling stories and letting people know what was going on. I would watch the nightly news and I was like I want to do that. I wanted to be the person telling the story.
Q. You got your first job with a television station right after graduating from Syracuse University’s S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. How did you feel when you first went before the camera at WETM in Elmira?
A. It was great, because I was hired as a reporter and there was no guarantee that I would be an anchor. Within two months there was a change in personnel, so I was fortunate enough to get a job where I could report and anchor. I really enjoyed that. That fall it was a big election season, and I really enjoyed political reporting. I just found elections and crime to be very interesting. When I came to Rochester in 1988, I ended up being the court reporter most of the time. In those days, the assignment manager would send you to the trial the entire time. I found it fascinating to be in court.
Q. Can you tell the readers of a crime story you particularly enjoyed covering?
A. Arthur Shawcross, the most famous serial killer around. He was convicted, I believe, of 11 murders. I’m pretty sure he probably committed at least 13, but they couldn’t pin him on that. I was the first reporter for Channel 10 on the scene of eight of the 11 bodies. One was on Thanksgiving morning, so heartbreaking.
(Note: Shawcross, nicknamed the “Genesee River Killer,” was convicted of murdering 11 women between 1988 and 1990, and died in prison.)
Q. Why did you decide to leave WHEC in 2017?
A. They were making changes that were not well thought out. I was proud of my career, and I knew that if I left then, I would have plenty of time to start a second career.
Q. You started Rebecca Leclair Communications about a month after leaving television journalism. What kinds of jobs did your firm take on in the beginning?
A. Initially, I did a lot of crisis communications. I was helping companies develop a media plan, like “Are you ready when the CEO gets pulled over for DWI?” Also, I was helping candidates to understand how to campaign better, how to handle the media as a politician.
Q. What kinds of tasks does it perform for clients now?
A. A lot of promotions for events and press releases. Basically, a client comes to me and says “This is what I want. How do I get media attention, and what’s the strategy?” “Media strategy” is a really good term I use.
Q. You recently did a free promotion for Ping Pong Parkinson of Rochester, Inc., the new local chapter of the nationwide nonprofit Ping Pong Parkinson. Did you have a particular reason for doing that work?
A. My brother, Greg Johnson, has had Parkinson’s for 17 years. I am forever committed to using my skills to help him, and anyone else with Parkinson’s, combat this terrible disease. I’m on the board of the Parkinson’s Foundation New York chapter with Dan Rothschild [a co-founder of Ping Pong Parkinson of Rochester, Inc.] We were on a Zoom call, and we all were trying to figure out what are we going to do to promote Parkinson’s Awareness Month. Dan piped up and said what he was doing and I said “Oh my god that’s fabulous. I’m ready. Just send me your flyer and I’ll write you up a press release, and then you guys can edit it with me and we’ll put it out to the media.” I’ve also made many videos that the Parkinson’s Foundation uses.