Madalyn O'Neill

Hometown: Columbus, Wisconsin

High School: Columbus High School

College: UW-Madison

Other Journalism Experience: 2 years in La Crosse at WKBT, internship here 

Started News 3 Now on: March 19th, 2018

What is your favorite part about living in Madison? I love being near my family, and Madison just feels like home.

What is the biggest news story that you’ve covered? Either a big murder trial in La Crosse (Todd Kendhammer), or when Joseph Jakubowski, the man at the center of a nationwide manhunt, was found in a rural area outside La Crosse.

What do you like to do in your spare time? I love running (casually – don’t expect to see me run a marathon) and reading anything I can get my hands on. I’m also a huge fan of escape rooms.

What is your favorite kind of ice cream? Ice cream is one of my favorite foods, so this is hard, but my all-time favorite is probably Cold Stone’s cake batter ice cream with fudge, caramel, brownies and nuts.

What is your favorite place to vacation? Either Puerto Vallarta or honestly, I love taking 2-day trips to the Wisconsin Dells with my boyfriend and friends, especially during the times of the year when it’s not super crowded. I love that it’s just a small city based around having fun.

What was your favorite band when you were in high school? Either Green Day or Fall Out Boy. I can say not much has changed.

What is your favorite sport to play or watch? I’m very uncoordinated, but I enjoy watching football. Brett Favre was one of my heroes growing up.

If you could possess one superhuman power, what would it be? It might not be as handy as being able to become invisible or transport or something, but I’ve always known I’d choose being able to fly.

What are you really bad at that you’d love to be great at? Probably singing. I’d be in a rock band in another life.

What is your most memorable travel experience? I’d say either the first time I went to Puerto Vallarta and I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was, or the first time I landed in Las Vegas on the trip from the airport to our hotel on the strip. It was nighttime, and everything was so lit up and alive.

Who would you most like to interview alive or dead, and why? I would love to interview Rod Serling, host of the original Twilight Zone series. I’m so interested in all of the concepts the show dove into that still hold up 50+ years later.

What is your favorite song of all time? I love Lazy Eye by Silversun Pickups.

What is your favorite movie of all time? My favorite movie is It’s a Wonderful Life. I watch it every year around Christmas. I think the final scene is the best movie scene of all times.

What is your favorite book of all time? That is probably the hardest question for me, but for sentimentality’s sake/simply how many times I’ve read them, I have to go with the Harry Potter series. I’ve gotten really into the Throne of Glass series lately, though.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received? As far as life advice, I’d go with follow your gut. My intuition rarely leads me astray.

For specific career advice, a wise coworker from my previous job told me, “Don’t speak faster than you can think.” That helped me immensely during live shots

Where were you when September 11, 2001 occurred? I was in my third grade classroom. I recall it was my teacher’s birthday, but everyone was very somber. I remember not fully understanding its importance until later, when my dad called me to ask if I heard what happened.