Pinsonn-OUT

But for local newscaster Evan Pinsonnault, the allure of national celebrity appears to be much stronger. And so in March, the morning anchor for Lansing’s CBS affiliate WLNS-TV will ditch the news desk, supposedly for good, and move to California to make a bid for an entertainment career in Los Angeles.

“I won’t quit ‘til I’m a star,” the 31-year-old sang last January on the first episode of his short-lived variety show, “The Evan Michael Show.” “I won’t quit ‘til I’m a star on Broadway.”

Broadway, Hollywood — for Pinsonnault, it’s just about performing. And taking risks, it seems; he doesn’t have a job waiting for him, which he says only adds to the thrill of taking the leap, conventional wisdom be damned.

“They say you should never leave (a position) until you’ve got something else waiting for you,” Pinsonnault said. “That’s why I’m excited. There’s no guarantee, but there are so, so many opportunities. And I can’t have them unless I’m there. That’s the way (the entertainment industry) works. If you show up and say you’re ready, people will plug you right in.”

Pinsonnault, a native of the Berkshires in Massachusetts, graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in broadcast journalism, and spent time as a reporter in Macon, Ga., before sliding behind the WLNS news desk in 2009. He wasted no time digging into the local arts scene once he arrived. A stage musical role here, a standup comedy appearance there and the next thing you know the tireless showman had succeeded in making himself a local celebrity.

“(Last year) the Greater Lansing Business Monthly had me on the cover with the title, ‘MR. LANSING,” Pinsonnault said. “My dad wanted to show some relatives recently, and when he reached for it, part of the magazine was covered up so that it said ‘MR. LA.’ Everyone thought it was funny but I thought, maybe it‘s a sign.”

By the time the providential magazine prophecy happened, the wheels were already in motion for his departure, but he took it as a good omen. In November, Pinsonnault’s girlfriend, Rebecca Mueller, an IT analyst at Sparrow Hospital, was offered a position at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

“Rebecca got a wonderful opportunity, and it just so happened to coincide with my contract being up in April,” Pinsonnault said. “We both sat down and said this could be great. The timing is right, the station hadn’t really offered anything, and I thought, what a perfect place to take my career to the next level.”

The last month has seen two other high profile newscasters relocating to other cities: Last week, longtime WILX evening anchor Jason Colthorp left Lansing for WDIV in Detroit, and in December, WLNS meteorologist Jake Dunne jumped to Flint. But WLNS’ News Director Jam Sardar says Lansing’s newscaster shuffle is all part of being a medium-sized market.

“Reporters come and go — it’s part of the game,” Sardar said last August when evening anchor Greg Adeline left for a morning anchor position in New Orleans. “We’re a market where we give a lot of reporters their first job. It’s kind of like grad school. They get experience and go on to bigger markets and get more money.”

But Sardar admits even he was caught off-guard when Pinsonnault dropped the bomb that he was leaving. Sardar thought the big announcement was that Pinsonnault was getting married.

“We would have loved to see Evan continue his career here, but I can’t begrudge someone following love,” Sardar said. “If you have to pick between love and a job, I’d like to think more people would make the choice Evan did.”

Sardar said no one has been hired yet to replace Pinsonnault, but a search is underway.

“Evan is a unique guy, with unique talents and energy, and there’s no way we’re looking for a copy of him,” Sardar said. “We’re thrilled with (meteorologist) Emily (Wahls) and (morning anchor) Chivon (Kloepfer), and we’re looking for someone to fit in, have good chemistry with them and take the show to new heights.”

Sardar credits Pinsonnault with being part of WLNS’ surge in ratings, which took the station from “a distant second” to occasionally winning time slots, including a win last month in the critical 5-6 a.m. slot.

“The way he made a name for himself in the community was good,” Sardar said. “He really put himself out there.”

Pinsonnault’s most recent project was the aforementioned variety show, which taped 10 episodes last winter. It featured local actors, musicians, filmmakers and leaders in the local arts scene, but he said his extracurricular activity was beginning to get in the way of his job.

“I wish I could have done 10 more episodes, but work didn’t want me doing the variety show anymore,” Pinsonnault said. “I understood where they were coming from, but I had been looking at it a little differently.”

That way of looking at things planted the seed for the West Coast move, which culminated in a cursory run to California when Mueller was offered the new job. Pinsonnault said he plans to pursue acting gigs, but his dream job is to work for himself.

“The goal is to end up hosting my own show, maybe a game show,” Pinsonnault said. “But I really won’t know what I want to do until I get there.”

And Pinsonnault said he’ll always have a connection with Lansing.

“It’s the longest I’ve ever called anywhere home since leaving Massachusetts,” he said. “It’s a very special place for me and I’m really going to miss Lansing. But any success I will have, a major reason will be because of the support from this community.

“And just because you might not see me everyday on the morning show, doesn’t mean I’m not thinking of Lansing. I’m looking forward to staying connected. One of the things I really want to do is put the spotlight back on Lansing from one of the world’s biggest stages.”