How She Became a National TV Show Host with Charity Bailey
This week, Charity Bailey a host on RightThisMinute, a Nationally syndicated news and entertainment TV show shares what life was like when she was knocked down so many times getting up seemed impossible. This is a story of resilience and grit that will surely inspire you!
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*Please note, the below transcript has been uploaded without the eye of a human editor so please expect some typos!
[00:00:00] This is a Mayzie Media production.
[00:00:02] During the Switch Pivot or Quit chats we talked to women who have successfully navigated through some of the plot twist years of life and are eager to share their stories and what they've learned in the hopes of inspiring, teaching or making even the slightest impact by candidly owning their truth. Hey girl, hey and thanks for dropping into the Switch Pivot or Quit podcast, candid convo for the girl needing a lifestyle plot twist when she's deciding if it's time to Switch, Pivot or Quit. I'm a Ahyiana Angel a former sports entertainment publicist in New York city, turned traditionally published author with Simon and Schuster. Who quit my old life to write a book, live in London for a bit and explore my dreams to find my happiness and fulfillment. I'm here to help encourage and guide you through your plot twist years as your chief encourager and host of this podcast, Switch, Pivot, or Quit.
[00:01:01] Our community is continuously growing. So welcome to all the new listeners, and thank you all for those who are returning. If you love what you hear on the switch, pivotal quit podcast, and wanna show your love, head over to iTunes and leave us a review. A review just helps more people know about the podcast and it helps to continue to amplify our voices as women in the space.
[00:01:27] Now, if you just can't get enough. Come hang out with us on Instagram by following me at Ahyiana.Angel. And that's A H Y I A N A dot A N G E L, or drop by our website, SwitchPivotorQuit.com. Now let's get this conversation started. On today's show we have something good for you, and extra special, because I wanna introduce you to one of my longtime friends, Charity Bailey.
[00:01:57] I wanted to share her story because her career story is one of encouragement and inspiration. And just that feeling of never give up. Keep going Charity is actually a television host media personality, and a seasoned journalist who currently hosts or co-hosts Write This Minute, a nationally syndicated news and entertainment TV show.
[00:02:22] Now her career began as a public relations intern for organizations like the LA Clippers, Fox Sports Network. And this was all while she was studying journalism and public relations at Cal State University Long Beach, which is where we met.
[00:02:37] Charity has honed her craft working as a sideline reporter and host for H CTV 22. And then as a feature reporter at the CBS NBC affiliates in Chico, California, while working in newsrooms for good day Sacramento and Fox 46 in Charlotte. Her desire to tell stories that matter and give a voice to the voiceless began to grow. with her work, Charity's goal is to bring humanity back to television and entertainment and spread a message of hope.
[00:03:13] Let's dive into Charity's story. Now, now let's get started with you telling us a little bit about your very first job. What was the job and what were you doing?
[00:03:23] My very first job in television that is, uh, was with H CTV 22. It was a cable station mm-hmm and I was in on air sports reporter, sideline reporter, and that was where I got my feet wet. I started as a production assistant, you know, for K CVS and KK nine. And then I got my first opportunity to create a reel. And that led me to my first official, official job with like actual call letters. That was in K V and in Chico, California. And I was a feature reporter there and my career has been all over the place.
[00:04:07] Yeah. So talk to us, talk to us a little bit about that because people probably will see you on TV, now you're a host, a co-ho, on Right This Minute, and they're probably like, oh my gosh, her life is amazing. Um, this, this is where I wanna be, but not knowing what it took for you to get to this place, to sit in this seat and to be able to be the host that you are today. So tell us a little bit about what it took for you to get here?
[00:04:35] A whole lot of grit and grind. Cause we were preparing for this interview, you know, I've thought about it. And I'm like, I've had to switch a lot. I've had to pivot a lot. Mm. But I ain't never quit. Huh. And that's why I'm here. Um, and you're correct, people see you know this space and they don't understand the work that it's taken to get here. Yeah, even, you know, sometimes with interns, they're like, oh, can I come in and sit with you in hair and makeup? And I'm like, sure, but where you're going, there's no hair and makeup. So I mentioned that I started, you know, in cable television and I started as a production assistant and intern.
[00:05:11] I started on the very bottom level learning all of the inner workings of a newsroom. I worked pulling scripts and I worked on the assignment desk. And back in the day we had tapes, you know, now everything is a server. I learned the newsroom. I learned the business of my business because I understand what it takes to get to the finished product.
[00:05:29] What made you start to learn the business of the business? Was it by choice or was it by function of what you were tasked with doing in this role?
[00:05:40] A little bit of both actually. Okay. Uh, some of it is you get thrown into the fire and you need to know how to move on the fly. And then also I'm just a curious person, right. And so clearly, you know, you go into these newsrooms as a young journalist or really a young intern or production assistant with high hopes of becoming, you know, and you talk to your pat Harvey's and your Dave Clark. You need to know what it takes to get here. Not just sitting in front of the camera, you know, so many people want to be on TV.
[00:06:09] Right. But as a journalist, we tell people stories, um, and we shine a light on the good, bad and the ugly mm-hmm . And it's not just about being on TV. It's about providing a service to your community. Mm-hmm that said. There's so much that goes into the production before you get on TV, before the lights come on and the prompters starts to roll and you start to, you know, tell these stories. And so all of that made me a better journalist because even as a, as a production assistant, I sat on the assignment desk and on the assignment desk, it was my job to fact find and to research stories so that when the reporters came in, we could give them keys to a van, assign them with a photographer and get them out the door with as much information as possible. Now their job is to get on the ground and do the groundwork, but we've done all of the, the, the prework or as much of it as we could do. And someone once told me that mm-hmm I know that you think that this is not reporting, but this, this is all a part of it. Yeah. And I'm like, oh, okay. And so I took that with me when I went onto my other jobs, you know, mm-hmm and became a reporter. So by the time I landed my job in Chico, which is a small market with very little pay, my salary was $21,000 a year so talk about a grind. Right, right. But when I got there, I understood how the newsroom worked and everybody's function and how I fit into it. Have you ever faced any huge setbacks in your career that made you question continuing to move forward, girl? Yes. Yes. And yes. So in Chico, I was 28 years old. I was the most popular reporter. On air at the time, because I was a feature reporter.
[00:07:58] So I'm lollipops and fairy tales. You know, when there's a new coffee shop, mm-hmm, the latest dance team, you know, any event I'm there and I'm promoting it and I'm, you know, the face of fun in the city. So that comes with the perks of being everybody's favorite, cuz they know when you come, the fund is coming in, you're also gonna drive business to their event or to their business, you know?
[00:08:21] Wow. Well, there was a general manager who did not believe that I should have been there based on who I am as a black woman. I laugh too loud. You know, I speak language, uh, all of the things, anyhow, mm-hmm he didn't expect me to be received so well in that community because that community at the time was not very diverse.
[00:08:43] Mm. And so my news director at the time loved me. She told me, I actually set up a meeting with her because I was air quotes in town, in town, meaning in Sacramento an hour and a half away from Chico. But I messaged her. I said, Hey, I'll be in town. Can I stop by? I sent her my real, she accepted. I stopped by mm-hmm
[00:09:02] She heard my laugh in the hallway. And when I went into her office, cause I thought I was there to have a conversation about her sports job that was open. And she said, I have a feature reporter job that's open. And I want you to. I'm from the bay area and the bay area is diverse and the world is diverse and I'm new here and I'm changing the newsroom.
[00:09:23] And I think you would be perfect. She said, I heard your laugh down the hallway and it captivated me. Wow. And the competition already has a hard new show. So we're going to bring fun and entertainment to our morning program. Mm-hmm and I think you're the per I think you're the perfect fit for the team I'm building.
[00:09:41] Mm, great. What I didn't know is. She knew that that general manager was not going to take a liking to this plus size black woman that he was, that she was bringing on the air who was out of this cookie cutter anchor reporter. Blonde bob box. Wow. Mm-hmm so she sent my information to the consultant who sent it to the owner of the broadcasting group who sent it to the general manager.
[00:10:07] So basically his hand was forced and he was like, don't worry about it. These people will run her out of here before she can unpack her bags. Well, that didn't happen. Mm. So come that may of 2008. I was called in the office and I was laid off, but I'm the most popular. And there were other interns that were hired in my place.
[00:10:29] What, so an, so you were laid off and an intern was hired in your place to do your job. He had hired two interns. Wow. And who were really good friends of mine who were both like, how did we get. Jobs and you got laid off. Yeah. And I said, well, you do the math on that. Yeah. You know what I mean? I went two years of being laid off.
[00:10:49] I mean, my credit fell in the toilet. My life was falling apart. Mm. I mean, it got to a point where my mentor told me, he said, kid, I almost fear answering the phone when you call me, because there's, it's always something else. And it's something outta your control. So many times he told me, he said, young people, they call you.
[00:11:06] And you're like, well, you caused that. You caused that. Yeah. You caused that. He's like every time you call. He said, I don't know what you're gonna become, but you gotta be the next Oprah with everything that's falling around, falling down around you. Mm. I don't understand it. And I was like, I don't understand it either.
[00:11:20] I was on unemployment. I had to stop. And my mom convinced me to go apply for food stamps. She was like, you have to go tuck your pride away. My mom worked in social work and she worked for the county of Sacramento. And she's like, there's so many people like you daughter. Yeah. Who've done the right thing who, you know, are in their careers.
[00:11:36] And she said, I see them every day. In consoling them. I tell them about you. And now I need to tell you about some of them. Mm. You need to go get help. So Ahyiana when I tell you I got laid off. Yeah. I was on unemployment. I was on the extended unemployment, the house I was living in the woman wasn't paying the, the mortgage.
[00:11:52] So we got a notice on the door. I mean, everything was just falling apart around me, coupled with the personal stuff. I couldn't find a job. I think the word overqualified needs to be kicked out of the dictionary, you know, and our vocabulary because they looked at it and they saw that. I worked for the Clippers in PR that I had a public relations degree, that I was a reporter in anchor that I had covered sports and won these awards and done all these things.
[00:12:16] And they're like, well, we. No, what do you want from us? And I'm like, A job. Yeah, I will file file things. I will, whatever I need to do that. Yeah. Anyway, that I ended up going to work for United healthcare as a customer service representative. And that was also very humbling because people on the phone would hear my voice or laugh and go.
[00:12:37] Where do I know you from yeah. No, they would. Yes. Yeah. Um, people on that campus, you know, it's local, so they all knew. Yeah. Yeah. And they'd see me and they'd go, oh my gosh, Charity bailey. Why are you my training class? Can I have your autograph? That kind of thing, you know? Oh, wow. It really, really hurts.
[00:12:56] But I will tell you this, what I learned in the process. Mm-hmm so none of this journey. Has been in vain because what it did is as it all came back together, it made me a better woman. It made me a better sister, a better friend. It made me a better storyteller, a better journalist, because what happens is sometimes we get so caught in our bubble, whether it's corporate or entertainment or whatever, whatever feels we're in mm-hmm once you enter that field, you know, those are your people.
[00:13:25] That's what you do. Yeah. So these setbacks were really set ups for what was to come. It also brought me new friends from different walks of life. Right. Mm-hmm it also taught me when I'm telling these stories. Like I have been to your shoes. I have lost everything. Yeah. I have been laid off, you know, I'm, I'm a hood kid, so I I'm, you know, The underdog.
[00:13:48] I understand. Mm-hmm but then you hit a point where, you know, there's a disconnect because you've been in this new world for so long. Well, it sent me back into the real world, if you will. Mm. And like, I felt humiliated. I felt embarrassed. I felt like I had let my family down in my community down. Mm-hmm , you know, because I'm one of those who I represent all of you, because all of you raised me and put all of this love and care and support into me so that I could go out to the world and represent you well, and now I failed you.
[00:14:15] I felt like a failure is what I felt like. Mm. Because