She's put the band back together.
Julie O'Neill debuts her Now in the Nati weekday lifestyle show at 12:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 22, on WXIX-TV with the help of two longtime WCPO-TV coworkers, Amy Seng-Holtzman and Greg Singleton.
"We have the full team in place and I have to tell you, I'm in heaven," says O'Neill, who left WCPO-TV in September 2022 after 27 years when told her contract would not be renewed at the end of 2022.
"We were able to snag Amy Seng-Holtzman, the first producer I worked with in Cincinnati 28 years ago, to produce Now in the Nati. And we hired Greg Singleton, one of the photographers I first worked with 28 years ago, to be our primary photographer."
Now in the Nati is one of several changes for 2024 at Fox 19, which also launched two new digital networks on its subchannels. (The 365 now airs on Channel 19.3, replacing the country music Circle Network, which ceased broadcasts Dec. 31. The Outlaw Television Network has replaced THIS TV on low-power WBQC-TV Channel 25.3.)
The fourth person on O'Neill's staff is reporter Abby Urban, who is new to Cincinnati but has experience doing a lifestyle show in other markets, O'Neill says.
"It's wonderful being surrounded by people who really know what to do. I feel safe," she says.
Now in the Nati will be produced from the marketing and sales departments, similar to WCPO-TV's Cincy Lifestyles at 10 a.m. weekdays hosted by Michelle Hopkins and Pete Scalia. Now in the Nati will air at 12:30 p.m., following the new InvestigateTV+ at noon from station owner Gray Television.
O'Neill, executive producer and host, plans to use the Fox 19 studio kitchen a couple times a week. She's plotting a variety of distinctly local subjects. Even the theme song will be local: Last weekend a group of musicians recorded an original theme song for the show.
"I want to bring things to the viewer that are beneficial — uplifting and helping us live better lives. I want to feature people doing things in a positive way in Cincinnati that you might call a hidden gem," she says.
O'Neill has been working off-camera at Channel 19 since the show was announced in October. Her one-year "non-compete" Channel 9 contract clause prevented her from appearing on another station until this month, but she could work behind the scenes.
Since leaving Channel 9's airwaves on Sept. 13, 2022, she rejected:
- Scripps' $50,000 severance offer because the company insisted she sign a non-disclosure agreement prohibiting her from talking about her departure of the company;
- Wrote a memoir about her career, including how she left Channel 9, called BOLD: The Secret to My Big Wins To Help You Crash Through Your Comfort Zone;
- Sued WCPO-TV and owner E. W. Scripps Company in federal court. The suit is pending.
A year ago she thought her TV career was over. She didn't think another station would hire her after suing her former former station.
"I can't believe how well things turned out, to come full circle and be back in TV," she says.
