Bob Barnard

Reporter

After working the night shift for 10 years and then early mornings for nearly another decade, I’ve made a change that feels just right. I now work a day shift, Monday through Friday, reporting for FOX 5’s afternoon and early evening newscasts.

I’ve always been a bit of a night owl, and for a long time reporting for the 10 and 11 p.m. newscasts felt like the perfect fit. And the early shift allowed me to be part of our great Morning Show team. But this schedule has been a breath of fresh air. I still get the adrenaline of breaking news and live reporting, just without flipping my body clock upside down. And being home in the evenings? And not having to go to bed early? Well, that’s been a quality of life game-changer.

As for my career in TV news, it began in 1982. Hired as an NBC page the summer after my junior year at Fordham, I got the chance to work as a desk assistant at NBC News in New York. That job included learning the business the old-fashioned way - running scripts through the halls of 30 Rock and tearing news copy off the AP, UPI and Reuters wire machines. This was long before computers took over newsrooms.

Now we’re streaming nearly 24/7 and sharing our work via social media. I’m @barnardfox5dc on X, @bobfox5dc on IG and yes, even on TikTok: @bobbarnardfox5dc.

My adventure as a TV news reporter began in 1984. I was hired by the ABC station in Las Vegas. My childhood dream was coming true. I’ve never looked back or regretted my reality.

From Vegas, I moved to Florida. First working for the CBS station in Orlando and then CBS in Tampa, covering everything from hurricanes and Spring Break to space shuttle launches and landings. Also got sent to cover major national and international stories: the famine in Somalia, Oklahoma City after the federal building bombing and to LA for the OJ verdict.

In 1997, I moved to Washington, D.C. and have been with FOX 5 ever since.

Over the years, I’ve covered some of the most significant moments in our region’s history, as well as the everyday stories of people in our communities—the kind that remind me why this job still matters.

I knew growing up on Long Island, watching New York City news in the 1970’s, that I wanted to be a TV reporter. I may not have grown up much since then, but I can honestly say I still love what I do. And that makes me a pretty lucky guy.