Jane Velez-Mitchell is a television and social media journalist and author, with specialities in

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

lifestyles,

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the s ...

, addiction and

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals ...

Early life and career

Born to a Puerto Rican mother and an

Irish American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

father, Velez-Mitchell has been on the forefront of many headline news stories for decades. In early 1990, Jane Velez-Mitchell was a co-anchor on the debut of an industry-first prime time three-hour news broadcast on

KCAL-TV KCAL-TV (channel 9) is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS West Coast flagship KCBS-TV (channel 2). Both stations share studios at the CBS ...

, a local Los Angeles TV station. She was paired with Los Angeles broadcasting legend, Jerry Dunphy. The format exists to this day. She would also make anchor appearances on KCAL-TV sister station

KCBS-TV KCBS-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent outl ...

. Other hosting duties included talk radio

KABC (AM) KABC (790 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, and serving the Greater Los Angeles area. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts a talk radio format. The studios are located in the Los Angele ...

, Los Angeles.

Current career

She is the founder of ''#JaneUnChained'', a digital news network for

and the

lifestyle which uses more than 60 volunteer contributors from around the world to showcase vegan festivals, animal rights conferences, organizations, vegan restaurants and cooking. The videos originate on the Velez-Mitchell's Facebook page, which has 16.5 million video views in 2017. The network is a 501 c (3) non profit based in

Marina del Rey Marina del Rey (Spanish for "Marina of the King") is an unincorporated seaside community in Los Angeles County, California, with an eponymous harbor that is a major boating and water recreation destination of the greater Los Angeles area. The ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. In 2019, JaneUnChained (in conjunction with Eamonn McCrystal's "Inspired.") launched "New Day New Chef", a vegan cooking series for Amazon Prime Video. also that year JaneUnChained released its first documentary "Countdown to Year Zero" featuring Dr. Sailesh Rao. For six years she hosted her own show on HLN, '' Jane Velez-Mitchell'' (formerly known as ''Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell'') replacing

Glenn Beck Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and ra ...

, who moved to

Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ...

. She is often seen commenting on high-profile cases for CNN,

TruTV TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts comedy, docusoaps and reality shows. The channel was originally launched in 1991 as Court TV, a network that ...

, E! and other national cable TV shows. Velez-Mitchell frequently guest hosts for Nancy Grace on her Headline News show. Velez-Mitchell reported for the nationally syndicated show '' Celebrity Justice'' (produced by corporate sibling

Telepictures Telepictures (also known as Telepictures Productions; formerly known as Telepictures Distribution and Telepictures Corporation) is an American television show and filmmaking company, currently operating as a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Television S ...

). She also appears as a substitute host on HLN's ''

Showbiz Tonight ''Showbiz Tonight'' is a defunct American entertainment news program that aired from February 20, 2005, until February 6, 2014, on HLN. ''Showbiz Tonight'' was hosted by A. J. Hammer at CNN New York at the time of its cancellation. The show r ...

''. In October 2014, HLN's ''Jane Velez-Mitchell'' show was cancelled. While covering a story regarding sororities on her television show ''

Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell ''Jane Velez-Mitchell'' was a current affairs gossip TV show on HLN hosted by Jane Velez-Mitchell. It aired weeknights at 7 pm ET. It debuted as ''Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell'' in October 2008 before rebranding as simply ''Jane Velez Mitchel ...

'' (retitled in February 2012 as simply ''Jane Velez-Mitchell''), she stated that she attended

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

. She was in the courtroom during the entire child sexual abuse trial against singer

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

. During the trial, Velez-Mitchell appeared daily on '' Nancy Grace''. She was featured on CNN's ''

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles ...

'' on several occasions, including on the evening of the verdict. In November 2014, she founded JaneUnchained, a social media news outlet that focuses on social justice.

Books

Velez-Mitchell wrote the non-fiction ''Secrets Can Be Murder: What America’s Most Sensational Crimes Tell Us About Ourselves,'' in 2007. The book's premise is that by studying the secrecy and deceit embedded in more than twenty widely covered murder cases in these tragic scenarios that we can learn to opt for honesty in our own lives and avoid similar outcomes. In September 2009, Velez-Mitchell released her memoir on addiction recovery, ''iWant: My Journey from Addiction and Overconsumption to a Simpler, Honest Life.'' In February 2011, Velez-Mitchell released a third book, titled ''Addict Nation: an Intervention for America''. This book examines what Velez-Mitchell believes to be growing levels of addiction in the United States to both illegal drugs and to legal phenomena like the Internet, prescription drugs, and fast food. Velez-Mitchell' fourth book, ''Exposed: The Secret Life of Jodi Arias'', was released in August 2013 and debuted at #5 on the ''New York Times'' Bestseller list. The book examines the life of

Jodi Arias Jodi is a feminine given name which may refer to: People * Jodi Albert (born 1983), English actress * Jodi Anasta (born 1985), Australian actress and model * Jodi Anderson (born 1957), American heptathlete * Jodi Appelbaum-Steinbauer (born 1956) ...

, leading up to her murder of her ex-boyfriend, and the ensuing murder trial.

Personal life

Velez-Mitchell is openly

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

. She came out on

Al Rantel Alfred Anthony Quarantello Jr. (born October 14, 1955), better known by his professional name Al Rantel, is an American conservative talk show host. Rantel's most recent contract was with KABC radio, Los Angeles, California. He retired for medi ...

's radio show on KABC-AM in Los Angeles in 2007. She also has dedicated her time and resources to various charitable and humane causes. She is well known for her animal rights advocacy and is a

and an environmentalist.

Awards

In July 2009, Farm Animal Rights Movement awarded Velez-Mitchell the Celebrity Animal Activist Award at the Animal Rights 2009 National Conference held in Los Angeles, California. While working at ''Celebrity Justice'', Velez-Mitchell’s reporting on

animal cruelty Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction by omission (neglect) or by commission by humans of suffering or harm upon non-human animals. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm or su ...

earned that show two Genesis Awards from the

Humane Society of the United States The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is an American nonprofit organization that focuses on animal welfare and opposes animal-related cruelties of national scope. It uses strategies that are beyond the abilities of local organizations. ...

. She earned an additional

Genesis Award The Genesis Awards are awarded annually by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to individuals in the major news and entertainment media for producing outstanding works which raise public awareness of animal issues. Presented by the HSUS ...

for her show "Issues" in 2010 and the same year the

VegNews ''VegNews'' is an American magazine that publishes content about and relating to veganism, including news, health information, recipes, global events, vegan products, media, and more. History and profile It was founded in 2000 as a newspaper, and ...

magazine named her Media Maven of the Year. In 2013, Mercy for Animals awarded her their Compassionate Leadership Award. In 2014, she was honored for fighting animal abuse by the

Animal Legal Defense Fund The Animal Legal Defense Fund is an animal law advocacy organization. Its stated mission is to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. It accomplishes this by filing high-impact lawsuits to protect an ...

. In 2015, she received the Nanci Alexander Award at PETA's 35th anniversary celebration. In January 2010, she was awarded the ''Ruby Award'' by Soroptimist International for her ''"War on Women"'' coverage on her television show."Jane Velez-Mitchell of HLN to be honored by Soroptimist"
Free Press Release, November 13, 2009.

References

External links

Jane Unchained News Network official websiteJane Unchained
on VoiceAmerica live internet talk radio station.
Jane Velez-Mitchell
on the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

*
Jane Velez-Mitchell on Dr. Phil
in October 2009 talks about being
midlife lesbian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Velez-Mitchell, Jane 1956 births American animal rights activists American people of Puerto Rican descent American reporters and correspondents American television journalists American LGBT broadcasters American LGBT journalists Living people Television anchors from Los Angeles Television anchors from New York City Puerto Rican journalists LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people American lesbian writers American environmentalists American veganism activists American women environmentalists New York University alumni American people of Irish descent American women television journalists