Tricia Macke is a veteran American television journalist best known as a longtime evening anchor at FOX19 NOW (WXIX-TV) in Cincinnati, Ohio. She joined the station’s founding news team when it launched local news programming in October 1993 and remains, as of 2025, the only original member of that team still on air — making her the longest-tenured news anchor in Cincinnati television history.
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Tricia Macke Quick Facts
| Category | Details |
| Full Name | Tricia Macke (married name Tricia Macke, sometimes listed as Tricia Macke Cignal) |
| Known For | Evening news anchor, FOX19 NOW (WXIX-TV), Cincinnati |
| Career Start | 1989 (producer, 700 WLW Radio) |
| Joined WXIX | October 1993, founding news team |
| Education | Northern Kentucky University, B.A. in Communication/Journalism, 1992 |
| Hometown | Newport, Kentucky |
| Husband | Chris Macke |
| Notable Awards | Multiple Emmy Awards, AP Award for Excellence in Journalism, Silver Circle Award (2025) |
| Net Worth / Salary | Not publicly disclosed — see note below |
Tricia Macke Early Life and Education
Tricia Macke was raised in Newport, Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati — a background that later shaped her connection to the local audience she’d go on to cover for more than three decades. According to public biographical summaries, she attended Newport Central Catholic High School before earning a Bachelor’s degree in Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs from Northern Kentucky University in 1992.
A caveat worth stating plainly: Macke’s exact birth date has not been officially confirmed by her or her employer. Some fan and biography sites estimate a birth year based on old social posts, but because this isn’t independently verified, any specific age or birthday you see cited elsewhere should be treated as an estimate, not a confirmed fact.
Tricia Macke Career Timeline
Macke’s broadcasting career began well before her long run at FOX19:
- 1989 — Producer, 700 WLW Radio (Cincinnati)
- 1990–1993 — News anchor and producer, WCKY Radio
- 1991–1992 — Reporter/producer, Storer Cable
- October 18, 1993 — Joins WXIX-TV’s founding local news team as FOX19 launches its news division
- 1998 — Begins co-hosting the station’s morning show alongside Rob Williams
- 1999 — Promoted to main anchor of the 10 p.m. newscast
- August 2008 — Becomes anchor of the station’s Evening News at 6:30
- 2025 — Inducted into the Silver Circle at the Ohio Valley Emmy Awards, recognizing 25+ years in broadcast journalism
Over her career, Macke’s reporting assignments have taken her well beyond Cincinnati. Publicly available bios note she has reported from Bosnia, Germany, and Israel, and has covered major national stories, including the O.J. Simpson case and John Glenn’s return to space. She has also interviewed U.S. political figures including sitting senators, governors, and — per her official station bio — President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence during their respective terms.
The 2012 Rachel Maddow Controversy
This is a well-documented part of Macke’s public record and worth covering accurately rather than glossing over.
In October 2012, Macke posted a comment on her personal Facebook page describing MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, who is openly gay, as “such an angry young man.” The remark drew criticism from viewers and from GLAAD, which called it discriminatory and demanded an apology. When challenged in the comments, Macke initially defended the post before later acknowledging, “I should have said antagonistic.”
WXIX-TV suspended Macke from the anchor desk for two days. She subsequently issued a formal apology through the station, stating in part that the comments “do not reflect my firm beliefs in individual and equal rights.” She returned to her regular anchor duties after the suspension.
This episode is reported consistently across multiple contemporaneous outlets, including The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek, E! News, and PinkNews, so it’s treated here as established fact rather than rumor.
Tricia Macke Awards and Recognition
| Award | Detail |
| Silver Circle Award | Ohio Valley Emmy Awards, July 2025 — honors 25+ years of contribution to broadcast journalism |
| Emmy Awards | Multiple wins across her career (specific categories/years not consistently itemized in public sources) |
| AP Award for Excellence in Journalism | Cited in her official FOX19 staff bio |
| Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame | Reported induction in 2019, tied to her work coaching basketball |
At her Silver Circle induction, letters of support reportedly came from Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, former Congressman Brad Wenstrup, and fellow FOX19 anchor Betsy Ross, according to the station’s own coverage of the event.
Tricia Macke Family and Personal Life
Macke is married to Chris Macke. Some secondary biography sites describe him as a patent attorney; this detail appears on aggregator sites but I could not confirm it against a primary or news source, so I’m flagging it as unverified rather than stating it outright.
Family details repeated across several biography/aggregator sites — including that she is a mother, and that she adopted a niece after her sister’s death — are not something I can confirm through a primary source (a news article, court record, or Macke’s own on-record statement), so I’m intentionally leaving them out rather than repeating unverified personal claims about her family. If you need this level of personal detail for a publication, it should come from an interview with Macke or her station, not from aggregator bios.
Tricia Macke Salary and Net Worth: What’s Actually Known
Here’s the honest answer: Tricia Macke’s exact salary and net worth are not publicly disclosed. Local TV anchor pay is rarely made public in the U.S. unless it’s a government-employed public broadcaster or surfaces through a leaked contract or lawsuit — neither applies here.
Several “celebrity net worth” sites publish specific dollar figures (e.g., salary ranges or a net worth estimate), but these numbers are not sourced to anything verifiable — no financial filing, contract, or on-record statement. Repeating them as fact would be misleading. What can be said honestly:
- She has worked in television and radio broadcasting continuously since 1989, over 35 years.
- Local news anchor salaries in mid-size U.S. markets like Cincinnati (a top-40 media market) typically range widely depending on tenure, role, and station — but any specific figure attributed to Macke individually should be treated as speculation, not fact, unless she or her employer confirms it.
Tricia Macke Social Media Presence
Macke maintains an active public presence tied to her role at FOX19:
- Facebook: Active under a “Tricia Macke WXIX” page, used for viewer engagement and news updates
- X (Twitter): Posts under a FOX19-affiliated handle, sharing news content and interacting with the Cincinnati audience
Follower counts fluctuate and are best checked directly on the platforms rather than cited as a fixed number in an article meant to stay accurate over time.
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Key Takeaways
- Tricia Macke has anchored at FOX19 NOW (WXIX-TV) in Cincinnati since the station’s local news launch in October 1993 — the longest tenure of any anchor in the market’s history.
- Her career began in radio in 1989 before she moved into television.
- In 2012, she was suspended for two days after a widely criticized Facebook comment about Rachel Maddow; this is well documented in contemporaneous news coverage.
- She was inducted into the Silver Circle at the 2025 Ohio Valley Emmy Awards for 25+ years in broadcast journalism.
- Her exact age, salary, and net worth are not publicly confirmed — treat figures from aggregator/gossip sites with skepticism.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Tricia Macke?
Her exact birth date has not been officially confirmed by Macke or her station. Estimates circulating online are based on inference, not a confirmed source, so no specific age can be stated as verified fact.
Is Tricia Macke married?
Yes, publicly available information indicates she is married to Chris Macke. Details beyond that (his profession, for example) are not consistently confirmed across reliable sources.
What station does Tricia Macke work for?
She has anchored at FOX19 NOW (WXIX-TV) in Cincinnati, Ohio, since October 1993.
What is Tricia Macke’s salary?
It has not been publicly disclosed. Figures published on some biography/net-worth websites are unsourced estimates, not confirmed data.
What is Tricia Macke’s net worth?
There is no verified, publicly disclosed figure. Any specific dollar amount you see online is an unsourced estimate.
Why was Tricia Macke suspended in 2012?
She was suspended for two days by WXIX-TV after posting a Facebook comment about MSNBC host Rachel Maddow that was widely criticized as homophobic. She later issued a public apology.
Where is Tricia Macke from?
She was raised in Newport, Kentucky, across the river from Cincinnati.
Where did Tricia Macke go to college?
She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs from Northern Kentucky University in 1992.
Has Tricia Macke won any awards?
Yes — she has won multiple Emmy Awards, an AP Award for Excellence in Journalism, and was inducted into the Silver Circle at the 2025 Ohio Valley Emmy Awards.
Is Tricia Macke the longest-serving anchor in Cincinnati?
Yes. She is described in her station’s own coverage as the only remaining original member of WXIX-TV’s news team from its October 1993 launch, making her the longest-tenured anchor in the market.
Conclusion
Tricia Macke’s career is a genuinely notable one: more than three decades at a single Cincinnati station, a rare feat in local TV news where turnover is high. The verifiable parts of her story — her broadcasting origins in radio, her 1993 start at WXIX, the 2012 controversy, and her 2025 Silver Circle induction — are well documented. The parts that aren’t verifiable, mainly her finances and exact age, are better left unanswered than filled in with numbers pulled from unsourced aggregator sites.