Newsflash! My Surprising Journey From Secular Anchor to Media Evangelist

By Teresa Tomeo

Bezalel Books, 2008

170 pages, $17.98

To order: bezalelbooks.com

(248) 917-3865

Life and Faith in Media

You may have read her book Noise, heard her on Catholic radio, or seen her on EWTN. Teresa Tomeo is a voice drawing attention to the media’s negative impact on our culture.

Now, in Newsflash!, we learn her extraordinary journey of faith that brought her from secular broadcast journalist and TV anchor to Catholic radio show host and popular speaker.

Newsflash! is the story of one woman’s relentless drive to fulfill her life’s dream at the cost of almost ruining her marriage.

Having bought into the feminist myth of having it all, she sought power and prestige in the broadcast media world. Only through life’s disappointments and opening herself to God’s grace did she come to realize that what he has to offer far outweighs any false promises of the world. For those of us who have never entertained such ambitious goals, we too can learn from her story. Whatever our life’s aim, do we turn it over to God? Is our will aligned with his will?

“‘Yes, Lord,’ I was finally able to say with peace and conviction in my heart, ‘wherever you take me, here I am. I have come to do your will,’” Tomeo recounts.

Throughout the story, Tomeo expresses gratitude for all those who have positively influenced her life. “I recalled the words of one of my dear friends, a wonderful Protestant preacher who works with the homeless in the inner city,” she writes. Are our hearts overflowing with appreciation for those who have positively impacted our lives?

Newsflash! is primarily a book of hope. Tomeo reassures the reader over and over again: If she can revert to her faith, save her marriage and serve God in ways far beyond her wildest imagination, then there is hope for us also to take the plunge and listen to how God is directing our lives.

“Think back to the beginning of my story, ‘my extreme close-up’ on the unemployment line,” she writes. “That was one of the most humbling experiences in my life — and yet, that experience now enables me to write and speak about facing change and re-inventing one’s self in accordance to Church teachings.”

Sometimes in her efforts to encourage the reader, Tomeo downplays the painful reality of the cross. One such moment is when she is speaking about Jesus’ yoke being easy. Definitely, following Christ is easier than following our own selfish desires. Yet, taking up his cross and following him can be excruciatingly painful.

Seeking to educate the reader, the final chapters focus on the beauty of the Church and her teachings. Tomeo quotes Pope Benedict XVI: “Dear young people, let me now ask you a question. What will you leave to the next generation? Are you building your lives on firm foundations, building something that will endure?”

If you have ever wondered what it’s really like to work in broadcast journalism, entertained notions that media personalities live glamorous lives, or been contemplating where God is leading you because you feel you are stuck in a dead-end job that does not fulfill your spiritual needs or is not compatible with your faith life, this book is worth a read.

More than entertaining or informative, Newsflash! is one woman’s remarkable journey of faith that brought her back to the arms of Jesus, back to the all-embracing love of the Catholic Church.

Elizabeth Yank writes from

South Milwaukee, Wisconsin.