The Bridge - What's it like to have a job at Fox News?

At Fox News in Washington D.C., journalism major Valerie Bell ’18 spent fall semester interning as a college associate with the show “The Ingraham Angle.” Her duties included booking guests—one Republican and one Democrat, to show both sides of issues—and researching current politics to help the show’s conversation stay up-to-date.

She found the paid internship on the Fox News website last summer while job searching. After a few phone calls and interviews, she landed the job.

If her experience sounds too good to be true, well, Bell is no stranger to a newsroom. As a freshman, she anchored for MC 77, Messiah’s student broadcast.

“Val showed great interest in becoming a TV reporter from the start of her time here at Messiah,” said Ed Arke, professor of communication at Messiah. “She did the necessary extras outside of classes in order to improve her skills and develop her potential ... to land beneficial internships as she worked toward her degree.”

After MC 77, Bell also interned at WDVN (formerly WHAG), a news station in Maryland, the summer after her freshman year. Another opportunity opened up during her junior year, when she met ABC 27 broadcaster Gregg Mace at a Messiah job fair. Her professors helped her apply for and land an internship there.

All of these experiences gave Bell familiarity with reporting, camera work and interviewing.

“It is a lot more than just getting in front of the camera and talking. You write everything you read,” said Bell. “It’s no different than writing a story, except instead of the news coming out in the newspaper, you talk about it on live television.” 

These experiences also helped her create a demo reel—footage of a journalist’s past work, like a resume in video form.

“[A demo reel] allows you to showcase to employers all your talents and abilities to deliver the news,” she explained. “You can’t get a job as a reporter without one.”

Her internship at Fox wrapped in December, just in time for her graduation. What’s she’s doing now?  Bell went back to the beginning, working at WDVM as a news reporter.

“I signed my contract there and started right after graduation,” she said. “I’ve been doing stories every day for the news.”

What advice does she have to future journalism students?

“If you are dedicated, have a lot of experience and can show what you can bring to the network, you are likely to succeed,” she said.

— Rachel Hungerford ’22