Amelia & Frank
Good Role Models & Cooperation Key to Successfully Juggling the Demandsof Co-Anchoring and Parenting

By Dean S. Potter
Photo by Amy Duffing-3 Peas Photography

Frank Vascellaro and Amelia Santaniello don’t claim to be experts on parenting, but non-profit family organizations such as Big Brothers and Sisters, the Crisis Nursery, Make-a-Wish, and more are grateful to the WCCO TV husband and wife news anchor team for volunteering their talents and knowledge at family and fundraising events.  They (Frank and Amelia) are in big demand.

 “Anything that has to do with kids and family has always had a lot of meaning for us in general,” Says Frank, “but it has certainly more meaning now that we are parents and we are very fortunate that we have our own three healthy kids.  So you see families that are struggling with various issues with the health of the children or family issues, it’s nice that we can loan our name in some small way to help those kind of groups get along.”

Frank and Amelia came to the Twin Cities 11 and 12 years ago (Amelia to WCCO in 1996 and Frank to KARE 11 in 1997), met, dated and were married in a storybook-like wedding in Florence, Italy in 1999.  Son Sam was born April 2000.  Twins, Joe and Francesca, came along in August, 2002 via a dangerous C-section operation that put Amelia on extended maternity leave and doubled Frank’s duties of caring for wife and growing children.

In June 2006 Frank came to WCCO and joined Amelia on the six o’clock news, making them the first husband and wife news team in Minnesota and one of the few in the rest of the country.  There was pressure - it’s challenging to co-anchor with a spouse, but love for each other and respect for each other’s talent soon had them playing off each other beautifully, continuing to keep WCCO’s six o’clock news placing first in sweep months.  

The Vascellaro/Santaniello family is well adjusted, filled with love and although Frank and Amelia may argue the point, they do know a lot about parenting.  They learned as kids from their parents and are still learning today.

Amelia’s father, Joe Santaniello, was an Air Force Senior Master Sergeant and while stationed in Fukuoka, Japan he met a young lady named Sumiko Okagi.  They fell in love, married and had two daughters, Amelia and Michele, who they raised in both cultures, teaching them to respect, love and understand people.

Sam and Rosalie Vascellaro brought up their children, Frank and Angela, with that same respect, love and understanding.  Frank’s father was a pilot for Frontier Airlines and Frank followed him into the sky taking flying lessons at 14 and soloing at 16.  He became a cadet at the Air Force Academy and did quite well but vision problems grounded him.  It was a hard blow.  His sister Angela also followed her dad into the sky and is now a pilot for Continental Airlines.  “They called us the flying Vascellaros,” Frank says.  Sam Vascellaro passed away in 1989.

Frank and Amelia’s ties to their parents are strong.  Amelia’s mom and dad visit them often as they in turn visit them.  Sometimes on a vacation or a special day they will choose a destination and meet.  Last October, Frank recalls, they enjoyed a fun time with the Santaniellos during a kid-friendly get-away at Disney World in Florida.

Rosalie Vascellaro was also a frequent visitor, but now she doesn’t have to travel, as she moved to the Twin Cities three years ago and is very happy to be near her son and daughter-in-law - so are Frank and Amelia.  One year when Amelia was Grand Marshall of the Nicollet Mall Holidazzle Parade, Rosalie rode with her on a very frigid float, a warm gesture on a cold night. 

It’s that warmth and love that molded both Frank and Amelia into the people they are today.  They have strong TV likeability ratings, which are important to people on television, whose personalities are broadcasted nightly into homes, where they virtually become members of viewers’ families.

Not surprisingly, Frank and Amelia’s parents are generous and well liked as well. Ten years after Frank’s father passed away, a Frontier airline pilot, Billy Walker, wrote this small tribute to his friend Sam Vascellaro in a Frontier Air Line publication: “Sam was one of the most pleasant fellows I ever flew with.  He and I flew several trips to Mexico in the (Boeing) 737.”

Sachiko Carroll, a dancer with the Mikaharukai dancers, remembers Amelia’s parents when they came to town during the 2003 Japanese Lantern Lighting Festival at Como Park that Amelia was emceeing, as a very friendly couple that posed for pictures with her and her fellow dancers. Sachiko and Amelia’s mom come from the same city in Japan - Fukuoka.

But good role models aside, Frank and Amelia continue to put effort into perfecting the work-in-progress of their parenting. One concern they have acknowledged is the parenting style difference between them- a difference that many parents share. Amelia says, “I’m the enforcer,” while Frank admits, “I’m the softy.” 

To address this concern they produced, in February 2007, a two-part TV news report on different parenting styles between a husband and wife and and how to reconcile the differences. They chose to put themselves on the spot as the couple with the differences and included their kids in the report that was filmed in some of their family’s real-life destinations - the Minnesota Children Museum, Target and Lunds.

The segment featured Amy Susman Stillman, Director of the Center for Early Education and Development at the University of Minnesota, who explored the issues that arose and counseled Frank and Amelia (and TV viewers in turn) just as she would counsel other parents in her office.

Among other points, the couple and viewers learned that it is perfectly alright to have different parenting styles; it’s the reconciling of the styles that’s important.

“I think,” says Frank, “there are certain things Amelia does better than I do and I think there might be one or two things that I might do a little bit better.  That’s the give and take of parenting.”

Clearly, despite their high-profile careers, Frank and Amelia are really no different from most parents, who want the best for their children and are willing to work hard to achieve it, including some intricate schedule juggling and a commitment to “family time.” 

While the weekends are dedicated family time, Amelia says, “We still have time with the kids during the week.”  And they make it quality time.  They have a family breakfast together every morning.  Frank takes the twins to preschool Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and each school morning Amelia takes Sam to the school bus stop.  Because of the five o’clock news, Frank goes to the station first, while Amelia who is involved with schools comes later. After the six o’clock news they go home to a family dinner, oftentimes prepared by Frank’s mother, after which Amelia returns to the station for the ten o’clock news and Frank tucks the kids into bed.

Juggling work and family is never easy, but even with the extra challenges their lifestyle presents, it would seem that Frank and Amelia are committed to being as good at parenting as they are delivering the news over WCCO.  And how long should these husband and wife newscasts continue?  Frank says, “I hope we continue working together for a long, long, long time.” And here’s to a long, long, long time with the Vascellaro/Santaniello family and its legacy.

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