Life-long resident of the Queen City Anna Mitchell, co-host and producer of Sacred Heart Radio’s Son Rise Morning Show, was always interested in the media.

“I have a few ‘full circle’ moments, but the best one is that [growing up] we always watched Channel 9 [WCPO], and when I was in grade school, Brian Patrick was the main morning anchor,” said Mitchell. “My most memorable field trip was in second grade when we went to the WCPO studios and got to meet him. Little did I know then (at 8 years old) that 16 years later he would be my colleague! He was the original host of the Son Rise Morning Show. And yes, I did tell him about that field trip.”

Growing up in Greenhills, Mitchell attended Our Lady of the Rosary and later Roger Bacon High School. She graduated from Ohio University with a focus on print journalism and noted that she “had no real interest in broadcasting.”

“In my first couple of weeks at OU, my older sister encouraged me to volunteer at the local NPR affiliate (they employed students), and I ended up working there all four years,” shared Mitchell. “I was determined to be a print journalist all through those years and didn’t change my mind until the very end of senior year when I came to the realization that I was actually better at radio, and enjoyed doing it, too.”

Since December 2008, Mitchell has been a valued member of the Sacred Heart Radio team. She shared that she applied for different jobs prior to being at Sacred Heart Radio, but God had a plan in place.

“I had been applying for any opening I could find at local NPR stations around the country,” said Mitchell. “In September 2008, a job opened up in Columbus, which I was sure was meant for me. Just after I applied for it, I was asked to be the 20s Group president [at St. Gertrude]. I told our chaplain that I didn’t think I should take it because I was sure to be moving to Columbus in a month, but he told me to pray about it and get back to him. So, I went home that day and, for the first time in my life, turned on EWTN Television, which happened to be playing Mother Angelica and her Sisters praying the Rosary. As I listened to their prayers, I prayed for guidance and concluded that I should take the president position, and if I have to move, we’ll deal with that later.”

“Well, Columbus never called me, and it was my leadership position in the 20s Group that served as the reconnection point with Matt [Swaim, co-host of the Son Rise Morning Show], which would end up putting me on Mother Angelica’s EWTN Radio Network,” continued Mitchell. “God is so good.”

Mitchell and her husband, Will, are proud parents to Roma, Tommy, Freddie and another child due this spring. The family splits time between Old St. Mary’s and St. Gertrude parishes.

When asked how Catholic media impacts the world today, Mitchell said, “There is a lot of real journalism happening, but it’s not the ‘gotcha journalism’ that many of us have come to expect from secular coverage of the Church. We have an interesting role as specifically Catholic journalists who love the Church: We understand that because we have a vested interest in the Church, we have to seek the truth and hold authorities accountable when necessary. I’m also very glad to see a greater effort in Catholic media to cover ‘non- Church’ stories that need to be covered from the Catholic perspective, which is absolutely vital in helping the faithful form a Catholic worldview.”

This article appeared in the February 2022 edition of The Catholic Telegraph Magazine. For your complimentary subscription, click here.