Donegal woman Angela Barnes has begun a major new presenting role this week, broadcasting to 160 countries in a ground-breaking project on Euronews NBC.

The journalist will have her first appearance as a Correspondent on Good Morning Europe next week, hosting a social media segment called The Cube.

In a media world full of ‘fake news’ Angela will guide viewers through the verification process journalists use with online sources.

Emmanuelle Saliba, Head of Social Media Strategy at Euronews NBC with Angela Barnes in her new Correspondent role.

This appointment is a remarkable step for Angela, who has spent the past 10 years at Sky in London. Her career began in production, before she progressed to become a reporter and presenter. Viewers will recognise Angela most recently from the Sky News technology segment Swipe and Sky Sports.

Angela Barnes presenting Sky Swipe

Angela’s new role at Euronews NBC places her at the frontline of breaking news. She told Donegal Woman:

“The Cube is an industry-first. The segment I’ll present is about breaking down the floods of information that is on social media and presenting live breaking news.

“We’ve found in a time when fake news is spreading that our audience are all too aware of it. We want to draw the curtain back and give a behind the scenes look at how we verify information.”

Angela revealed that she will also work on a Raw Politics programme soon with former Sky News Ireland Correspondent Darren McCaffrey.

Angela Barnes and Mark Petchey presenting Find the Advantage with Sky Sports

A successful screen test and a series of interviews were all it took for Angela to be offered the position at Euronews NBC.

Angela was not seeking a new career at the time, but the more she learned about the future developments of the station, the more she saw how big an opportunity she was being presented with.

Angela said: “It’s an exciting promotion to move from broadcasting in the UK to the rest of Europe. Euronews NBC is broadcast in 160 countries, and NBC in America will be dipping into us for breaking news from Europe.

“I had my send-off from Sky on Monday and they gave me a nice big bunch of flowers and gifts and I got a nice speech from my former boss. It was an emotional day. I’ve loved working at Sky, I’ve been there since finishing University.”

The position also involves Angela relocating to Lyon, where Euronews NBC headquarters are located. France may be far from Kilcar, but Angela sees it as a ‘home from home’.

Angela was born in Winchester in the UK and spent all her summers and holidays in Donegal, where her father has family roots.

Angela’s parents Sue and Stephen retired to Kilcar 15 years ago, and she loves the area so much that she is hoping to buy her own house there soon.

She said: “I love to get back to Donegal. I love surfing at Tramore and Muckross and hiking at Slieve League.”

Angela Barnes

The adventures don’t stop in Donegal though. Angela recalls a project in Iceland as one of the many highlights of her career at Sky.

Angela said: “We flew out to Iceland to cover a story on a volcano that was expected to erupt and cause another ash cloud crisis. I did a piece to camera standing in the crater of this volcano that was ready to blow. It was amazing to spend a week working with scientists, flying drones over the volcano and reporting on what would happen in another crisis.”

“There have been so many stand-out stories I’ve worked on, and some really awful stories that have been really upsetting, like when there’s been a terrorist attack. I was showing my mum and dad around the newsroom the night of the Paris attacks.

“For stories like these you realise how important your role is to tell people what is happening quickly and accurately,” she said.

Photo: Une Herzer / Light Hackers

Now is an important time to be part of an innovative and transparent news show such as The Cube. The role of a journalist has changed a lot in the past ten years to involve sources from social media, and Angela’s new role reflects this advancement. She also hinted that more big news is in the pipeline.

For viewers wanting to tune in from Donegal, Good Morning Europe can be watched on Euronews NBC from Ireland on Sky under the news channels section and also live online.

Angela has always wanted to be a news presenter. She remembers her school days when teachers asked her what she wanted to do and she did not hesitate to reveal her dream job.

Her advice for anyone wanting to follow a similar path is simple:

“It’s like anything, if you work hard you can make anything happen along the way.

“I’m really grateful to be setting out to do what I wanted from a young age.”