ATLANTA — 11Alive / WXIA-TV announced today that Atlanta-native and EMMY® Award-winning journalist Faith Jessie will be joining the station in December as a weekday evening anchor. She will co-anchor 11Alive News at 5 p.m. alongside Jennifer Bellamy. Jessie will also report for 11Alive’s weeknight newscasts.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Faith to 11Alive and back home to Atlanta,” said John Deushane, President & GM for 11Alive. “We think Atlanta news viewers will see that she’s genuine, empathetic, and brings an innate curiosity to the newscasts. She’s a great addition to our evening anchor team of Jennifer and Ron Jones.”
Jessie joins 11Alive from Newsday in New York City where she anchored major news events including the network’s coverage of the 2020 Republican and Democratic National Conventions as well as Election Night. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, she spent several days with healthcare workers and hospitalized patients—giving audiences a first-hand look at the fight against the virus. Jessie also worked with Newsday’s investigative team to uncover racial hiring discrepancies by New York-area police departments. Both stories earned regional EMMY® Awards for outstanding journalism.
“Faith’s passion for journalism is evident in her anchoring and demonstrated in the major stories she’s covered,” said Jennifer Rigby, News Director for 11Alive. “She’s an investigative journalist, storyteller, and leader who’s joining a team that’s committed to verifying truth and holding the powerful accountable.”
Before Newsday, Jessie worked for KSNV-TV (NBC) in Las Vegas as a reporter and fill-in anchor for more than four years. There she covered national news stories including the final 2016 presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump and the deadly mass-shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival on the Las Vegas Strip. She began her career as a weekend anchor at WICZ-TV (FOX) in Binghamton, NY after graduating from University of Southern California.