MEET THE MEDIA
Hayley Harmon
by Michelle Rauch photos courtesy of Hayley Harmon
S
tarting the day with morning news is second nature to Hayley Harmon. “That’s what I watched as a kid and that’s why I love it, because I connected with the people. I felt like I knew them,” Harmon said. Mrs. Harmon knew her daughter would end up on the other side of the camera one day. “She said I would always get up before school and watch the news with her,” Harmon said. Harmon was born in Memphis and grew up in Lebanon, TN, a suburb of Nashville. She is the middle child in her family with an older sister and younger brother. As the daughter of a veterinarian, animals were a large part of the family, too. “I grew up loving animals. I am a dog person. I am allergic to cats, which is ok.” At one time the Harmon household was home to four dogs, four cats, and a guinea pig who, sadly, was literally scared to death by one of the dogs. She can tell the story with a smile now. “He died a tragic death. It was a heart attack,” she said. Sadly, Harmon’s schedule and apartment living aren’t conducive to having a pet. “When I have a yard I will get a dog—or a host of dogs!” Harmon has very fond memories of her childhood. She attended a private co-ed school growing up, which she loved. “It was small. I liked that, because I felt like I got a lot of personal attention.” She played soccer and was a cheerleader; getting any more information out of her proved to be difficult. “It’s so hard to talk about yourself,” she said.
Harmon is more at ease talking about television. “When I was a kid I watched it a lot. I have a big personality and when I got into high school people would say I should be on TV or be an actress,” she said. Harmon admits she cannot act, so TV seemed like a natural fit. Although she grew up bleeding orange and thought the University of Tennessee was her destiny, Harmon ended up at Middle Tennessee State University where she studied broadcasting. It was close to home and has a good reputation. “I loved it. I got such a good education,” she said. She admits the broadcasting program was hard and very intimidating at first. The experience prompted her to give the following advice to those who are considering it as a career. “Don’t get into this if you just want to be on TV. There is so much more to it than just putting on lipstick and smiling on TV,” she said. Prior to moving to Lexington and joining LEX18 in the fall of 2014, Harmon interned at Country Music Television as well as News Channel 5, the CBS affiliate in Nashville. She got her first paid experience at WBKO in Bowling Green. She admits she was terrified when she started her first job as a reporter. In less than a year, she moved from reporter to weekend anchor to weekday morning anchor. “I got to do three different jobs in two years there and learned so much. I cannot sing the praises enough. If you are going to be in
JULY 2016 | TOPS MAGAZINE
101