Growing up in the beautiful Centennial State, Melanie Townsend had big dreams of entertaining audiences nationwide either on the theater stage or TV.
She attended college at Metropolitan State University of Denver and joined the Emmy Award-winning college newscast “The Met Report” as a student reporter and producer.
After graduating with a degree in Broadcast Journalism, Melanie worked in production at KDVR/KWGN in Denver, before landing her first on-air gig in Texas!
In 2017, Melanie became the morning news anchor for KFDX/KJTL in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Starting at the crack of dawn, Melanie would bring energy and enthusiasm back to the morning and noon newscasts, which landed her a promotion to evening news anchor in 2018.
Melanie would go on to produce and manage two popular franchises for the station, including an in-depth digital series called Voice for the Voiceless, which highlights racism and societal issues within the community.
Melanie then brought her years of experience as a journalist to The City of Trees in 2020.
Mel joined the FOX40 news team as a reporter/multimedia journalist, covering any and all stories from breaking news in Sacramento to social impacts and wildfires.
She and former Chief Photojournalist Grant Hansen also put together a wildly popular and creative travel franchise called Destination California.
A year later, Mel joined the morning news crew alongside Richard Sharp and meteorologist Adam Epstein as a morning news anchor and has been there ever since.
When Mel isn’t busy on the news desk, she’s most likely singing Karaoke or dancing with friends, doing wine tasting with her husband, hanging out in the Bay Area, going to brunch with friends, or hiking of the many beautiful trails we have throughout NorCal.
Mel also loves animals, volunteering and hosting charity events for organizations that work hard to give back to the community.
Equivalent to two double shots of espresso, Mel’s upbeat personality and passion for storytelling makes her a welcomed part of the FOX40 team.
You can send her story ideas by emailing melanie.townsend@fox40.com or by connecting with her via social media on Facebook and Twitter.
