Shamonee Baker, Multimedia Journalist and Weekend Anchor, WKRG

June 13th was Shamonee Baker’s first year anniversary at WKRG. Three weeks ago, she was promoted to Weekend News Anchor. Her story shows that nothing is impossible if you believe in yourself and don’t let others limit what you can achieve.

Shamonee has one of those infectious, effervescent personalities that will light up a room—confidence without cockiness. She believes that she can achieve success doing what she loves. Shamonee is twenty-two years old and one year after earning her Broadcast Journalism degree from Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, her dreams are coming true.

She was born and raised in Ft. Walton Beach and has always been a dancer. She started dancing at the local Boys and Girls Club at seven years old. “It was recreational,” she says. “I also danced at church. In middle school, it became competitive dancing, mostly Hip Hop, Jazz, and Pom.” 

Throughout high school and even her first year at college, she was on the dance team and performed at football and basketball games as well as pep rallies. “We traveled to competitions in Atlanta, Jacksonville, Birmingham, and even a few times in Mobile. I’ve been a dancer all my life.”

It was broadcasting that got her attention early on. “Ever since the fourth grade, I’ve wanted to be on television.” At Kenwood Elementary in Ft. Walton, Shamonee had a teacher, Mrs. Tucker, who was into aviation and aerospace. She taught all things aviation, which eventually caught the attention of a local television station, and she was invited to bring a few students to conduct an “on-air” interview. “I was one of the students selected to participate,” says Shamonee. 

“We were sitting on the set while Mrs. Tucker was conducting the interview with us, asking what we learned and how impactful the aviation focus had been for the students. I loved being on TV. I was hooked. I told myself right then and there that I was going to be the next Oprah.”

Shamonee moved to Pryor Middle School in Ft. Walton Beach two years later, where Mrs. DeMers taught Television Production classes. “You had to be recommended for admittance into her class, and Mrs. Gainey recommended me.” The focus of the class was broadcasting morning announcements to homeroom classrooms and putting together mini packages about events and sports at the school,

“We learned about production, filming, editing, and writing scripts.” Shamonee and her classmates would record videos at the school during the class period and brainstorm story ideas. “We read off a teleprompter and gained a lot of experience about how television production works.” 

Mrs. DeMers moved to  Choctawhatchee High School when Shamonee was a freshman at the school. Her classes continued, and the high school had its own television station, WBGI.  From 9th to 12th grade,  she attended Florida Scholastic Press Association (FSPA) conferences in Orlando each year. She also interned at a local radio station 

When it was time to choose a college, Shamonee already had a specific career path in mind. “I picked my major before I graduated high school, Journalism.” She chose Florida A&M because they had a School of Journalism and an 85% placement rate in media for graduates. 

Throughout her college career, she worked in radio, print, and broadcasting. She was one of the anchors for TV 20, the university television station, and a writer for the school newspaper.

Because WKRG broadcasts from Mobile to Destin, Shamonee and her family watched its programs. People had told her, “You probably won’t get a job close enough where your family will be able to watch you.” She applied to WKRG a month before graduation, met with the station to interview, and felt it was a good fit. 

Through a bit of miscommunication, Shamonee and the station manager didn’t follow up with each other immediately. When she did call, his response was, "I wondered why I haven’t heard back from you.” She accepted the job as a Multimedia Journalist seventeen days after graduation at the end of April and began on June 13.  And her family does get to watch!

“My first big moment came when I was shadowing in court, taking notes with Nicolette Schleisman, when she said, 'These notes are really good; you should do the story yourself'.” She says her stand-out moments have been when veteran anchors like Devon Walsh willingly become mentors. “She boosted my confidence by telling me, 'Your voice is great, your cadence is great. You can’t teach that. You either have it, or you don’t'.”

“That made me happy,” says Shamonee. “Sometimes you just need that one encouraging word to build your self-esteem to  let  you know you aren’t half bad.” I asked if she was nervous the first time she was on air. “I just wanted to be good. I really wanted Peter, Rose Ann, and Devon to think I was good enough to do this job.” So far, so good. 

Shamonee is a “sky’s the limit” kind of person, full of positive energy and outlook. She says that so far, it’s been everything she could have imagined. “People told me I would never get a job in a Top-50 market. I said, Why not? I didn’t realize how big Mobile was until I moved here. I love the small shops, the architecture, and how people make you feel welcome.”

What about your free time? “I love the beach, hanging out with friends, listening to music, and enjoying a daiquiri. I love being with family. I drove home just to have lunch with my mom and my aunt last week.” A bit of a foodie, Shamonee likes discovering small, locally-owned businesses and restaurants. “I love to shop.” She is also a self-proclaimed Do-It-Yourselfer. 

So, what is a Multimedia Journalist? “We do it all. We find stories, write the scripts, do the filming, the editing, and pretty much everything.” It looks like Shamonee was cut out for this job and is excelling! She loves the people she works with at WKRG. “They have become friends, and we even hang out together away from work.” 

“I knew in the 4th grade I would be on TV.” Congratulations on the promotion, Shamonee. You’ve certainly earned it!