Melanie Alnwick
The question I am asked most frequently is, "How do you do it?!" Usually, this happens after I tell someone that I get up for work every day at 2 a.m.
The answer is simple: I do it because it makes sense for my family. I've done just about every assignment there is here at FOX 5 -- nightside reporter, investigative reporter, money and consumer reporter, anchor-- and when the opportunity came around to do the early morning shift, I took it.
Now I am able to continue a career that I love, and be home in the afternoons to do my second job as a mom and household executive. I started my first newspaper when I was 8. OK, it was just a handwritten rag on notebook paper, complete with my own illustrations of neighborhood happenings -- but I clearly had the bug.
I've always been the kid with a million questions. My parents get huge credit for teaching me not to be afraid to ask. I was encouraged to pick up the phone and call someone if I wanted information.
As an Air Force family, we also moved around a lot. Seeing so many different cultures helped expand my vision of the world. I still remember the Buddhist kids I knew in Thailand who wouldn't allow their photographs to be taken. They believed it would steal their soul. I keep that memory with me every day when I interview people on camera. I firmly believe that we, as journalists, are being entrusted with their persona and it’s our duty to present them accurately and fairly.
I studied at the University of Florida and James Madison University. My first job in TV was the news director's secretary at WUSA-9 here in DC. It may have been a minor role, but it was invaluable. I got so much inside knowledge of how a TV station works and was able to learn from journalists who were at the top of their game.
Did I mention I've done weather also? That was my first on-air job in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I still know my way around an NWS forecast map! :)
At NBC-17 in Raleigh, North Carolina, I learned how to shoot a gun, found out what a hog waste lagoon is, and got to witness one of the last live tobacco auctions in the state. I also engineered a fantastic trip with the U.S. Air Force to Bosnia, Albania, Germany and Italy during the Kosovo conflict -- and had the privilege of flying in the cockpit of a C-17 across the Atlantic.
Coming back to DC to work for FOX 5 was an honor. I'd have to say my proudest moment was winning a National Emmy for my series of investigative reports on Spring Valley. After the dinner, Jane Pauley came up to me and said, "Great dress... and an even better speech!" I don't ask for a lot of affirmation in this business, but that little exchange made me feel as if I'd finally taken a seat at the Journalists' Table.
I volunteer at local hospitals with Musicians on Call, and I also teach art history to elementary school students. It’s such a treat when I meet viewers who are also early risers: baristas, delivery guys, police officers, mad joggers... there is a whole different city out there in the wee hours of the morning.
I tell my kids I'm lucky to be able to take in the sunrise every day. So if you're an early riser, please join us every day starting at 4 a.m… we're up, too!
The latest from Melanie Alnwick
Fire badly damages Fairfax County home
Fire investigators are still searching for the cause of a blaze that badly damaged a home Thursday night in northern Virginia.
Fairfax County weighs delaying middle school start times
Some Virginia middle school students may get to sleep a little later each morning. Fairfax County Public Schools are considering later start times after new data revealed the benefits.
Protests at George Washington University continue; House Republicans criticize DC’s response
Pro-Palestinian protests at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. have shown no signs of letting up as city leaders face criticism for their response as the demonstrations enter day seven.
Police ID man shot, killed inside DC restaurant; suspect charged in nightclub shooting
Authorities have identified the man who was shot and killed inside a D.C. restaurant over the weekend and have charged a man they say shot six people at a nearby nightclub just hours earlier.
3 killed in DC shootings as violence erupts overnight
Three people, including a teenager, were killed, and several others were wounded when gun violence erupted overnight in the nation’s capital within the span of just a few hours.
DC police: 5-year-old girl, father wounded in targeted shooting
D.C. police say a 5-year-old girl and her father were wounded in a targeted shooting late Tuesday night in northeast Washington.
Senior Skip Day Shooting: 3 wounded teens released from hospital; search for suspect continues
Students returned to the classrooms Monday in Prince George's County after a weekenbd shooting during a high school "senior skip day" gathering left five teens hospitalized.
Woman dies from gunshot wounds after brought to Virginia hospital by man: police
Authorities are investigating the shooting death of a woman who died after she was brought to a Virginia hospital by a man claiming to be her boyfriend.
Four people shot, one dead in Seat Pleasant park shootings
One person was killed and three others wounded in shootings hours apart at two neighboring parks in Seat Pleasant, Maryland.
LA Fitness shooting: Man shot inside Lanham gym after argument on basketball court, police say
Authorities say a man is in critical condition after he was shot inside a Maryland LA Fitness gym after an argument on the basketball court.