Annie Aho is the dream employee you’d create in a laboratory if it were possible.  She served as my intern and assistant for several months in 2009 at the FOX News Channel.  Those were the most productive months of my 10-year tenure at the network. 

Annie has an uncanny ability to anticipate exactly what you will need and provide it even before you ask.  She is never idle.  While I would be on the phone interviewing a newsmaker, Annie would be on a computer researching the person and feeding me info.  While I was in the make-up chair preparing to anchor a 3-hour live show, Annie was sifting through morning newspapers, clipping articles she thought I would need and organizing them chronologically. 

Annie’s people skills are innate and unerring.  She is cheerful and upbeat even in stressful breaking news situations.  I knew if I sent her to the greenroom to chat up a guest before an interview, be it the Ambassador to Israel or a wounded veteran, she would do so with grace.  Yet part of her charm is how tough and assertive she can be when necessary.  If you’re on deadline, you want Annie working the phones because she’ll get those calls returned.  And trust me, there’s no one better to run interference through an unruly crowd at a news event than Annie.  I’ve seen her in action, expertly navigating through friendly autograph-seekers and over-zealous fans alike.     

No assignment ever stumped Annie and she has a particular talent for cracking the complicated arena of social networking and the Internet.  I’d never had a Twitter account until Annie set one up for me.  And I’d studiously avoided Facebook, finding it too overwhelming, until Annie streamlined my account to be more manageable and user-friendly.  Thanks to Annie’s suggestions and modifications, my online presence grew from 2,000 Facebook friends to more than 8,500 fans and placed me among the top tier of FOX News anchors. 

In addition to being tremendously capable, Annie is also a pleasure to be around and work with everyday.  She’s wickedly funny and wonderfully generous, even at 5am when her shift here started.   And though she was head and shoulders above the other assistants here in competence, Annie was a true team player and helped them along rather than just promoting her own shooting star. 

Annie’s hard work and talent were quickly spotted at FOX and a tug of war ensued between departments fighting to keep her.  In fact, she was offered a coveted full-time job with promises of it leading to bigger and better things.  But Annie wants to take the more challenging road of following her dream to be a reporter.  I’ve read her writing and watched her knock out standups at a moment’s notice.  I believe she’s on the right path to quickly securing her dream job and that any news director who hires her will feel lucky to have Annie Aho as part of the station.

Sincerely,

Alisyn Camerota

Anchor, FOX & Friends Weekend