Today we’d like to introduce you to Constance Jones.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Born in Stuttgart, Germany, I spent part of my childhood overseas. My mother is German and my father served in the Military Special Forces as an “Army Ranger.”
My father later retired to Texas, where I went on to earn my Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Radio, Television, and Film at the Dan Rather School of Communications at Sam Houston State University.
My journalism experience includes anchoring and reporting from major U.S. cities, including Miami, Oklahoma City, New York City, and Atlanta. Most recently, I returned to Miami to anchor NBC 6 News Today, the station’s weekday morning newscast from 4:30 am to 7 am.
Previously, I spent nine years as an anchor and reporter at local station WPLG-TV and also worked at WLRN National Public Radio in South Florida. Outside of television, I worked alongside the Broward State Attorney as the Communications Director for the 17th Judicial Circuit of Florida.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of the toughest times in my career was storm chasing in tornado alley (Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska).
As a reporter at KOCO-ABC TV News in Oklahoma City, I spent months on the road chasing dry line formations, searching for funnel clouds to form in the atmosphere.
There is nothing more frightening or exciting than being face to face with a twister. Covering those storms prepared me for hurricanes and tropical storms in South Florida.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am focused on sharing the “untold” stories about our community. South Florida is a beautiful patchwork of cultures, languages, food, and ideas.
I feel tremendously honored to tell these stories and expose our viewers to those things that make SFL so unique. My target has been highlighting the Haitian and other Caribbean communities.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Without a doubt, the daily news cycle has been flipped upside down. Viewer habits have changed during the pandemic, as more people have adjusted to streaming TV viewing.
As a journalist and content creator, I am constantly looking for new ways to connect with my audience on a more personal level. Social media continues to play a key role in building relationships. It’s an extension of my TV personality.
This will likely be amplified for journalists in the next 5 to 10 years. Also, a more “à la carte” presentation style will likely evolve in more newsrooms, as viewers become more selective about the content they read and watch.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nbcmiami.com/author/constance-jones
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/constancejonestv
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConstanceJonesTV
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ConstanceNBC6
Image Credits
NBC 6 Headshot (NBC 6 Miami) and Anton Kirindongo
