Ty Steele, with his love of journalism and storytelling, always knew he had a face for television.
After spending seven years perfecting his media skills at his first on-camera job, in Oregon, he landed a gig at FOX40 last year.
Now the station’s nightly news anchor, Steele’s responsibilities go beyond what the public sees, with many of his afternoons spent immersed in the brainstorming, interviewing and writing phases of stories that will later be reported.
He says he couldn’t be happier. “There is a great news market here, it’s very exciting,” Steele says, “Sacramento is full of down to earth people and it’s so close to everything. The region is right in the epicenter of so much going on in this part of the country.”
Steele maintains an even temperament in a chaotic TV studio. “Most people really don’t realize how much goes into news-gathering, especially in television,” Steele says. “They think we just show up and a script appears and magical makeup artists get us ready – and that is far from the truth these days.”
The studio is buzzing with a palpable energy when a man bursts in to yell, “We need the cameras out there by 2:00; it’s happening downtown at 2:00!” The time is 1:47 p.m. Crewmembers are shouting over one another with directions. Story pitches are being tossed out and shot down. Everyone is on a 20-minute deadline. Steele, with the calm of a veteran, applies his own makeup in a dressing room adjacent to the studio, without breaking concentration.
Ready for a Close-Up
Back stage with FOX40 anchor Ty Steele