It took years to find an opportunity where a warm beach would just be a short drive away. Now I’m here and I’m honored to be here.
Thank you for clicking here to learn a little more about me. I anchor the 6 p.m., 10 p.m. & 11 p.m. newscasts but you may also see me reporting in the field from time to time.
Like many of you, I came here from the Midwest, starting in March 2022. Fourteen years in Iowa at KCRG-TV, the ABC affiliate, in Cedar Rapids, most recently as evening anchor. While in Iowa, I covered three presidential caucus campaigns, the major floods of 2008 and 2016 as also a derecho that hit Cedar Rapids in August 2020, destroying 60 percent of the city’s tree canopy.
Before that, three years as an evening news anchor at WEAU-TV (NBC), in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and nine years as a sports anchor/reporter in Duluth, Minnesota, Eau Claire, and Topeka, Kansas. I graduated in 1997 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a double-major in political science and broadcast journalism.
While I’ve been working in television news since 1996, I still remember my roots in the workforce. It’s critical to see life from another person’s point of view. I paid for college by delivering pizzas and dealing blackjack (yes, true story) at a Native American-based casino in Wisconsin.
Writing is a true element of what we do. In tenth grade, a substitute teacher in my composition class said I had talent as a writer. First time I heard that. I followed that path for years, eventually releasing three published, full-length novels: Gotcha Down (2004), The Interim (2007), and The Last Out (2009), inspired by my years as a sports journalist.
Our family lives here in Southwest Florida, having made the shift from Iowa. I would call myself a “lifelong Midwesterner”, except I’m not. 46 of my 47 years were in the Midwest as I was born in New Jersey. I do claim Kansas City as my hometown but I also graduated from high school in the St. Louis area. Yes, lot of Midwest there.
What we do here at FOX 4 is a two-way form of communication and information. We offer newscasts from our studios or the field but we often get the information for reports from you.
With this role also comes great responsibility. It’s paramount that all of us treat the people we serve with grace and decorum. Get the story right but also remember that we often talk to people on their worst day. Always think back to how they would like to be treated when a reporter calls or knocks on a door. Respect is key.
Also, feedback is a gift. Reach me at: chris.earl@fox4now.com
