By Kacie Safford

BYU Broadcast Journalism graduate Jeanette Lefrandt has always envisioned a career in the spotlight. As a little girl, her mother would often find Lefrandt smeared on make-up with a hairbrush in hand, doubling as a microphone, putting on quite a show for an audience of dolls.

It was no surprise Lefrandt spent much of her time in tights pursuing her theatrical interests. However, it didn’t occur to her that broadcast journalism would be the route she’d take to indulge her love for the arts.

Lefrandt admits she wasn’t always completely invested in the idea of a serious career in broadcasting. It wasn’t until she found herself sitting in BYU Professor Robert Walz’s introduction to broadcasting class that anything but music, dance, and theatre had crossed her mind.

“The hardest part about making the decision between a career in theatre or broadcast was whether or not to cut my hair,” Lefrandt said sarcastically.

She recalled asking for advice from Walz, a reporter for ABC4, when he surprised her by saying long hair may get a date, but short hair gets the job.

“What really made all the difference is discovering my passion—that’s when my focus changed,” Lefrandt said.

Her performing background and comfort in front of the camera didn’t go unnoticed when Lefrandt was admitted into the broadcast journalism program at BYU.

“She brought so much talent with her,” said Walz. “She’s a real natural in front of the camera,” he added.

Lefrandt explained that both journalism and theatre each require a creative process of story telling.

“I happen to love them both and decided to pursue my love for the arts in a steady job that could also pay the bills,” Lefrandt said.

Lefrandt’s sense of curiosity only tempted her to dive further into the broadcasting program. She anchored for BYU’s daily live newscast, helped produce and report for BYU’s Daily News, and hosted BYU Weekly, which all eventually landed her a coveted internship with KSL’s Studio 5 morning show.

It was there Lefrandt discovered how well she’d been prepared to take on real world experiences.

Lefrandt admitted to being a little nervous her first day on the set, but the moment she saw the equipment, she felt in her element. It was the same technology and equipment she’d spent tireless hours in front of in the BYU Broadcast News lab.

“The more outside experience I received, the more I realized how incredibly prepared I’d become,” Lefrandt said. “It was at that moment where I thought, I can do this.”

However, while BYU was preparing Lefrandt for the real world of television, there wasn’t much anyone could do to prepare her to hear that her father’s brain cancer was back—and this time it wasn’t going away.

When it seemed easier to stay in bed, Lefrandt would think about what her dad would want, and those were the times her emotions seemed to fuel her ambition.

“I put a lot of effort into everything I was involved in,” Lefrandt said. “It seemed to help take my mind off things, and make that deep ache go away—even for just a moment,” she added.

Her experience with losing a father to brain cancer shed new light on what influence she could have as a news anchor.

“I found it comforting at the time to think that by informing and sharing others’ experiences with viewers, I could be a means to offer hope to someone else,” Lefrandt said.

Not long after the passing of her father, Lefrandt took on a story from a unique emotional angle about a young man who’d lost his leg in a boating accident.

The story was from the perspective of the sister and driver of the boat, who’d never publicly spoken about the incident. Lefrandt’s story was later pronounced winner of the Society of Professional Journalists Region Nine’s 2008 Television Feature competition and will advance to nationals in the fall of 2009.

Lefrandt also received the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Internship Scholarship, awarding her full tuition for an internship. She was accepted as a summer intern with Fox in Chicago, but chose to take a second internship with KSL to be closer to family.

When asked where she sees herself in five years, Lefrandt replied, “ I hope I have made some significant advancements in my career . . . as well as my dating status—maybe I’ll grow my hair long again!”

*Photo courtesy of Jeanette Lefrandt