Jen Hale
Jennifer Hale (born February 28, 1978) is an American journalist working for Fox Sports as an NFL sideline reporter where she is currently paired with Chris Myers and Daryl Johnston. She also covers NBA's New Orleans Pelicans for Bally Sports New Orleans and also covers College Football for Fox Sports. She has been a substitute host on Fox Sports 1 shows "" and "Lock It In". She covers The Basketball Tournament for ESPN as well as the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. She has also worked as a Sideline Reporter for TNT's coverage of the 1st Round  of the 2017 NBA Playoffs. Early life and education. Hale is a native of New Orleans, and was raised in Alabama. She graduated from Louisiana State University with honors where she was captain of the cheerleading squad, homecoming queen, and Miss LSU. Hale interned for CNN in their Washington D.C. bureau. She also got her Master's from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and spent time in Germany in a fellowship to study the US-German relationship after the fall of Communism. Career. Hale started her journalism career covering politics for KNOE-TV, a station in Monroe, Louisiana , which sent her to Baton Rouge as their capitol correspondent then went to WAFB in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. When she was a weekend anchor and reporter for WVTM in Birmingham, Alabama, she wrote a book called "Historic Plantations of Alabama's Black Belt" in 2009. She also was a fill-in correspondent for MSNBC during her time in Birmingham. Prior to her Fox Sports career, she was an anchor on WVUE-DT's morning show in New Orleans, Louisiana. She received a call from some friends from LSU to interview former athletes and special guests at LSU football games to  put on their website, coupled her work with the New Orleans Saints led to people in the Saints organization to recommend Hale to Fox Sports. During the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, Hale filled-in for Jenny Taft as moderator for "". She covered The Basketball Tournament 2020 in Columbus, Ohio for ESPN staying in the bubble set-up during the Covid-19 pandemic. She was the only reporter on site. She also worked as a Sideline Reporter for TNT's coverage of the 1st round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs. Personal life. In 2015, Hale launched All Access Sideline Pass , an organization that focuses on educating and empowering young women in the New Orleans community through outreaches and seminars. She started the foundation after encouragement from former Saints running back Pierre Thomas. She also supports Alzheimer's Research, the Speech and Hearing Impaired Foundation among other causes and she's the Women's Health spokesperson for Thibodaux Regional Hospital. Hale was named one of New Orleans top female achievers by New Orleans Magazine in 2015. In 2018, Hale revealed in a "Women's Health" article she co-wrote that she was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy during the 2016 NFL season . She wore a portable defibrillator for six months until medication she took helped get her heart rate back to normal. Since then, she has worked with the American Heart Association. She is a cross-fit enthusiast.