She has a name that many San Antonians instantly recognize, a byline that promised the latest scoops about local TV, radio and the movies.
As a newspaper columnist possessing a conversational style with wit and insight, Jeanne Jakle was one of the most popular reads in the San Antonio Express-News for more than three decades.
Jakle's San Antonio-focused column appeared on the front page of the entertainment section, and the newspaper put her on billboards. One had flames coming out of her name with the words: "Jakle - Making the Express-News hotter."
That all ended abruptly on May 24.
"I was told immediately my position was eliminated," she said. "I was told I had to hand in my badge. I was kind of shell-shocked. That's how it happened. That's how a more than 35-year career ended."
"It was devastating," Jakle said.
There would be no goodbye cake with her colleagues, no final column for her readers. Jakle was one of 14 Express-News employees suddenly laid off.
"I was told it wasn't performance-related, it was budgetary," Jakle said. "It's happening all over the country, I hate to say."
In fact, Jakle's column was a rarity: She was one of the last local TV columnists in the country.
"I did my best to make it relevant and readable to this city," she told KENS 5's Deborah Knapp in an exclusive interview at her San Antonio home.
In fact, Knapp's early career provided the spark that got Jakle started on covering local television.
During our interview, Knapp pulled out a scrapbook her mother kept that included the story Jakle wrote about her when she briefly left KENS 5 for another TV anchor job in 1980.
"This was the first year I was ... a general assignment reporter," Jakle told Knapp. "My boss sent me on this story when Philadelphia hired you. I wrote a story about you and it sort of launched my career as a columnist because my boss saw it and loved it."
"He said, 'I think we're going to make you a TV columnist,'" Jakle reminisced.
That role led to an exciting career that included trips to Hollywood and New York City.
"I met so many people. I met Jon Hamm, Tom Hanks, Candice Bergen," Jakle said as she displayed photos of herself with the actors.
She wrote about the stars, but readers really liked when she focused close to home on local TV news.
"You'd be surprised at the hundreds, thousands of hits (or clicks, as they call them) that I'd get when I'd write about anchors with no makeup or anchors with pets," she said. "You could call that fluff, but the readers wanted it, and I gave it to them."
The past few weeks have been difficult for the longtime columnist. She often worked from home alongside her husband, who is also a writer.
"Sometimes I'm here -- or I was here -- for 10 hours a day," she said as she sat at her home computer desk.
"Twelve hours! Oftentimes without getting up," added her husband, Ross Ruediger.
Jakle posted a goodbye to her readers on her Facebook page.
"I was really humbled by the outpouring... I'm about to cry," she said as she recalled the hundreds who took the time to send a message, even one-time adversaries like former KENS 5 News Director Bob Rogers.
He wrote: "Truly a shame to release one of the truly honest and gutsy reporters. Back in the day, you were a pain in the neck. Adversarial but fair. I will miss you."
Former Express-News columnist Roddy Stinson wrote on Facebook: "With her departure from the Express-News, a little bit of what makes this city unique and lively and fun dies."
At the age of 62, Jeanne Jakle has no plans to retire. She said she wants to continue to write -- perhaps finishing a novel she's never had time to do -- and she's looking at other opportunities online.
"My readers... they all suggested I do something on my own," she said. "They didn't want my voice to be hushed. I'm contemplating that."