Jeanette Reyes: The talented and multi-language FOX5 reporter and journalist
- Kayla Pineda
- Mar 27, 2023
- 3 min read
How the daughter of Dominican Immigrants became a professional journalist for a national television outlet and became an inspirational speaker for other immigrants.
By: Kayla Pineda
As a young journalist at the University of North Texas, I have had many experiences with different organizations and professors. However, sometimes I feel as though I don’t quite fit in. That was until I found Jeanette Reyes on TikTok, she was hilarious! I took a deep dive into her profile and found so many common interests, the number one being a Latina woman in the journalism industry.
Reyes was hired as a morning news anchor at FOX 5 DC in 2020. She was the daughter of two Dominican immigrants. She grew up watching Univision, the biggest news source for her family. Reyes showed off her talents by being:
· bilingual in Spanish and English
· Hispanic women in the industry
· motivational speaker for ethnic journalist
She also shows these talents on other platforms such as TikTok. Reyes's social media presence shows the audience a side of reporters we rarely see. As a proud Afro-Latina, she tells stories and expresses what it means to be an ethnic news anchor.
Connection through TikTok
In 2020, Jeannette Reyes uploaded her first skit using her anchor voice known as @msnewslady on TikTok. Throughout the years, Reyes has gained a following of up to 1.3 million followers today. Her TikTok includes a variety of content such as get ready with me as a news anchor, teaching my husband Spanish, hair and makeup tips, and answering audiences’ questions.
This feedback from her followers led Reyes and her husband to be on talk shows. They get asked about their anchor voices as well as Reyes’s background as a Dominican. Reyes does not shy away from explaining her ethnic background and is proud to be Dominican.
Reyes was one of the first of many journalists and Afro-Latina women to become a professional journalist, FOX 5 news anchor, inspirational speaker, and TikTok famous.
Inspirational Speaker
Reyes is an inspirational speaker who goes into detail about her upbringing with immigrant parents. She struggled with finding authenticity and a sense of belonging in this industry. She calls this the “imposter syndrome” where minority journalists come in and feel they will be caught for not fitting in. Reyes begins to explain how this mindset is created. The syndrome is created because those individual minorities don’t have many role models in the industry to look up to.
Reyes offers mentorship for those minorities who join the industry and feel discouraged or suffer from imposter syndrome. She encourages them to view their disadvantages and shortcomings as their advantages and strengths. Reyes will use her life examples to encourage and inspire other minority journalists.
Commitment to Journalism
Reyes attended Kent State University where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism. She has been a consistent reporter since 2012 when she started at KATV ABC 7 full-time in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Later on, moved to ABC in Washington, D.C. before working for FOX 5 D.C.
Reyes is also a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the National Association of Black Journalists. She pursued a passion for journalism when she remembers how important the news was for her family and how it kept them connected to their relatives back in the Dominican Republic.
Affording University was hard for her and her family, Reyes has mentioned before that in her junior year she had decided to drop out due to lack of funds. Thankfully, to the grace of her dean, they helped her receive enough funds for her to finish college and complete her degree.
Reyes is an example of a hard-working first-generation woman. She struggles to get where she is today but continues to thrive and mentor others. She’s become the role model that she needed and creates a more inspirational path for minorities just like her.
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About the Author
Kayla Pineda is up and coming public relations professional in Dallas, Texas. Kayla studied journalism with a focus on Public Relations at the University of North Texas in Denton. She is expected to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in May of 2023.
Reference Material:
Google image result for https://www.mediamoves.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/jeannette-reyes.jpg. (n.d.). Retrieved January 31, 2023, from https://images.app.goo.gl/saLwYcmj3nVGzcjd8
Jeannette Reyes - morning anchor, good day DC - LinkedIn. (n.d.). Retrieved January 31, 2023, from https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeannette-reyes-065a7171
FOX 5 DC. (2020, November 27). Jeannette Reyes. FOX 5 DC. Retrieved January 31, 2023, from https://www.fox5dc.com/person/r/jeannette-reyes
FOX 5 DC. (2023, January 31). Fox 5 DC. FOX 5 DC. Retrieved January 31, 2023, from https://www.fox5dc.com/
UNT. (n.d.). Retrieved January 31, 2023, from https://www.unt.edu/?gclid=CjwKCAiAleOeBhBdEiwAfgmXf61JoyVt6hwZBxp64IeN_hqsiHKsH6xV1LMaJnqOaFSuFqq5hmud_BoC92kQAvD_BwE
YouTube. (2021, January 21). Jeannette Reyes talking to husband using anchor voice | Tiktok @msnewslady. YouTube. Retrieved January 31, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_QUGxTM-50
YouTube. (2022, June 1). I still have a keycard: Jeannette Reyes | fox 5 DC. YouTube. Retrieved January 31, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmVKq5mIRPU
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