November 18, 2021

By Cora Jackson-Fossett

Contributing Writer

 

Niele Anderson has always been drawn to politics and media. Considering her deep affinity combined with her years of experience, it’s a natural fit that she is the senior producer and co-anchor of “Fox Soul’s Black Report.”

On the show, Niele and her colleagues, Romeo Mastin, Demi Lobo and Brooke Thomas, discuss the impact of current events on the Black community along with interviewing and spotlighting African American newsmakers.

 

 


 “Fox Soul’s Black Report,” which airs on Channel 13 on weekdays at 4 p.m., is also among the programming on Fox Network’s online OTT platform, Fox Soul.

The uniqueness of Fox Soul lies in its celebration of Black culture through programs such as “The Business of Being Black with Tammi Mac,” “The Book of Sean,” “Cocktails With Queens with Claudia Jordan, Vivica A. Fox, Lisa Rae McCoy and Sylenna Johnson,” “HBCU Tailgate Tour,” “Chopping it Up with Oakley,” and more.  It’s a singular emphasis on African Americans not found on streamers like Hulu, Netflix or Amazon Prime.

 

 

“Fox decided to put its first OTT platform into Black America, which I think is huge!

 

 

We have 24 hours of programming that’s all about the motto – ‘Our Voice, Our Truth,’” said Niele, who was personally selected by James DuBose, Fox Soul’s general manager and head of programming, to be the producer when the show first launched in 2020.

 

“When it came to doing Black news programming, I’m really thankful to James, who said, ‘If we start a Black news show, Niele has to curate it.’ I’ve been curating the show since its inception and within a year, we won an award from the New York chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists,” she said.

 

 

That success likely persuaded DuBose to suggest that Niele move from behind-the-scenes to on-air talent, which occurred two months ago. So far, the transition has been seamless for her, especially since it’s another opportunity to delve into her love of politics and media.

‘“Fox Soul’s Black Report’ is doing really well. We’re now on KCOP every day, between ‘Wendy Williams’ and ‘The Real,’ and we get to be unapologetic. That’s really important to get to say how we really feel about being in White America and what it’s like to be a Black person, all of the challenges we face from voting rights to education to health care,” noted Niele.

 

“We get to tell who we are and how we are resilient in overcoming all of these obstacles. To be able to put a show like that together everyday, this is part of what I want my legacy to be – being able to inform, empower and inspire!”

 

 

 

Niele’s attraction to politics and media actually began at a young age.  As a youngster and teen, she participated in her church’s voter registration drives.  After college, she volunteered for the Rock The Vote campaign.

 

 

Later, she worked with media pioneer Cathy Hughes, founder of Urban One (formerly Radio One), the largest Black-owned and operated broadcast company in America.  That relationship led to a job at the L.A. Sentinel, the largest Black newspaper on the West Coast.

 

Although hired as the religion editor, Niele remained so savvy about the political scene that Executive Publisher Danny J. Bakewell, Sr. and his assistant, the late Brenda Marsh-Mitchell, tapped her to interview U.S. Senator Barack Obama, then a budding presidential candidate.

 

Her expertise in media and politics increased more during a stint with Steve Belhumeur of S.B. Strategies, one of the largest minority-owned consulting firms in California. Also, she gained additional skills as a broadcaster on 100.3 The Beat, V100 and 93.5 the Beat (now 93.5 KDAY) radio stations.

 

 “Fox Soul’s Black Report” also boasts a radio station connection as the show is filmed at Meruelo Media studio in Burbank.

 

 

Explaining the link, Niele said, “Meruelo Media is the owner of hip-hop stations  KDAY and Power 106 and our ‘Fox Soul’s Black Report’ partner. I'm grateful to Otto Padron, who is the president. He and his team support the vision.”

 

 

While pleased with her career success thus far, Niele also acknowledged that several people contributed to her accomplishments. Listing some of her key advisors, she said, “I consider Cathy Hughes my mentor in radio.  I also owe a lot to Mr. Bakewell and Ms. Brenda for all that they exposed me to and allowed me to do.”

 

In fact, Niele credited Bakewell and Marsh-Mitchell with providing her with one of the most treasured encounters in her life by choosing her to interview Obama. 

 

 

Describing the moment as “historic,” she considered the meeting as a chance “to believe in him before the rest of Black America did.”

Remembering the dialogue, Niele said, “[At that time] everybody was on the fence. Hillary, we knew, but we didn’t know who his man with this weird name was. But when he first ran, I was 100% all in.

 

 

“To just see the older generation embrace what us in the younger generation knew  - ‘that’s our guy’ – that was a memorable moment for me.


The whole Obama era – the campaign, it was just something special that empowered us. We were just like, ‘If he can be president, anything is possible!’”

Such optimism continues to envelop Niele as she moves forward in her life and career. Another major factor guiding her is her spirituality, which is strengthened by her strong relationship with Christ.

Born and raised in Phillips Temple CME Church in Los Angeles, Niele frankly stated, “God is at the center of my life. When I have bad times, He’s there and when I’m up, He’s there.

When I’m having bad times, I put all of my hope in Him and when I’m having good times, I praise Him for bringing me through.”

 

Niele also recognized Bishop Noel Jones of The City of Refuge Church for his spiritual guidance, as she shared, “My faith walk is interesting. I was born and raised in Phillip’s Temple, but in my adult years, I was saved and rededicated my life to Christ at West Angeles Church of God in Christ and joined the City of Refuge. God has truly guided me through His faith leaders here in Los Angeles.”

 

 

God and the church also nurtured her interest in politics and media.

 

Motivated from learning about the civil rights movement, she said she was fascinated with how the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and Dr. Dorothy Height, president of the National Council of Negro Women, “used the church to mobilize and really build a movement. 

All of the things that I wanted to do in politics – like voter registration - was happening in the church.”

So, from a youngster to an adult, Niele continues to enjoy the mixture of politics and media, a blend that has served her well and will definitely help her create a legacy of assisting others.

“I am very passionate about empowering Black people.

I love all people, but my passion and my mission is to have our community involved,” she insisted.

“I’d want my legacy to be that I helped somebody, enlightened somebody and encouraged them to be their brother’s and sister’s keeper.”

See Niele Anderson on “Fox Soul’s Black Report” on Mondays through Fridays at 4 p.m. on KCOP-TV or stream anytime at foxsoul.tv.

Category: News