By Rob Nagy
For new Channel 6 weather personality Melissa Magee, coming to Philadelphia has been a dream come true. Having climbed the highly competitive ladder of a news anchor at an impressive pace, Magee has reached yet another pinnacle by earning a high profile position as a member one of the top-rated weather teams in the industry.
Exemplifying the work ethic of a seasoned veteran, Magee has set the tone for a bright future as she begins a new chapter in an already impressive career.
Magee comes to Philadelphia with a wealth of experience that has spanned nearly a decade. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she attended Beverly Hills High before graduating from UCLA in 2001, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in French.
From early on Magee was exposed to solid family values. Her father, a corporate trainer; and her mother, a seasoned veteran in the television industry with 20th Century Fox, laid the foundation with a solid work ethic and stable home life that gave Magee the tools required to establish herself personally and professionally.
“I was sixteen, seventeen years old when I decided what I wanted to do,” recalls Magee. “We had, like a lot of schools have now, a TV access channel which allowed us to put on local high school news. That’s where I really got into news. Then I started as an anchor reporter and later transferred to weather anchor.”
Following her college studies, Magee landed her first assignment at TV station KDUH in Scottsbluff, Nebraska where she spent the next year doing everything from writing, producing and editing her own stories.
Catching the attention of CBS/Fox, Magee’s talents were enlisted by their Bakersfield, California affiliate. There she worked weekends, serving as a news anchor, reporter and weather person. Her dedication to her craft did not go unrewarded, as she was soon promoted to the noon anchor position where she continued to hone her skills as one of the station’s premier weather anchors.
In 2006, Magee signed on with Accuweather, based in State College, Pennsylvania, and she spent the next two years providing regional, national and international weather forecasts as well as daily appearances on the nationally broadcast Bloomsburg Morning Show. Magee arrived at New York’s WNYW in 2008, pulling double duty anchoring the weather for the morning program “Good Day New York” and the evening news. She also worked as a feature reporter and created original content for the station’s website.
This past December, Magee arrived in Philadelphia as the newest member of the WPVI Channel 6 Action News weather team. “I’m in a great place at a great station in a stable environment,” says Magee. “They are so good to you. They really want you to do well, and you can see that in the product we put out. I always make sure I give all the information everybody needs when I’m giving the weather to them, making sure I cover all the elements, all the nuts and bolts. I’m really enjoying it so far and hope that I have many more years in this market and in Philadelphia.”
This year Magee will be awarded her certificate in Broadcast Meteorology after completing the required classes from Mississippi State University. “I took all seventeen classes and that was tough,” says Magee. “That was a three year program and, after I pass this test at the end of August, I will be a certified broadcast meteorologist. So my focus is definitely on the weather. I think it is a great fit for me.”
When Magee isn’t logging lots of hours at Channel 6, she is enjoying all that Philadelphia has to offer. “I’m still experiencing and learning the city,” says Magee. “I love the fact that Philadelphia has so many great restaurants. I like the fact that there’s a lot of culture. There are so many museums and fun things to do. So, I’m still expanding and finding out all the wonderful things that Philadelphia has to offer. What is so appealing for me is it’s a big city but it has that small town feel, and that is so welcoming.”
In spite of all her success, Magee is quick to give credit to her family and the values that were instilled in her. “I think I am actually a little bit ahead of the curve and that has to do with the upbringing that I had,” says Magee.
“When I was a little girl my mom would say, ‘you do whatever you want to do – the sky is the limit.’ I think it is very difficult to stick to something that you really want to do” malissa noted.
Life gets in the way. You have to pay your bills. You have to eat. Sometimes people don’t have the ability to stick to what it is they’re really passionate about. So I’ve just been really blessed and fortunate that I was given the opportunity to pick what I wanted to do, and I can thank my parents for that.”
Magee can be seen reporting the weather on WPVI Chanel 6 every weekend while filling in sporadic weekday broadcasts. In addition to the news, she has worked on the programs “FYI” and “Visions 2010”. To stay on top of weather, news, entertainment and sports go to www.wpvi.com
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