Olivia Suarez is a multimedia journalist based in Austin Texas. She graduated with a Bachelors in Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin in 2015. Olivia currently works at KVUE, the ABC-affiliate station in Austin, as one of the evening news producers and assignment desk editors, assisting in the production of the 5:00, 6:00, and 10:00 p.m. newscasts.
Earlier this year, Olivia utilized her experience in entertainment journalism to cover the 2017 South by Southwest Festival in Austin. With that, she conducted red carpet and sit-down interviews with notable figures in Hollywood, including Josh Duhamel, Melissa McCarthy, and Jake Gyllenhaal. Her story featuring her interview with Gyllenhaal aired in Austin, Dallas, and Houston, respectively, and was also picked up by ABC for other affiliate stations across the country to have access to for their newscasts. Additional interviews during her time at KVUE include James Roday (Psych), Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect), and Tony Hale (Veep, Arrested Development).
Prior to graduating from college, Olivia worked as the Social Media Director for ScreenSlam, an entertainment news outlet based in Los Angeles, California as part of her internship for the university's Semester in Los Angeles Program. She reported stories based on the latest entertainment trades and shared them onto ScreenSlam's social media pages. Olivia also conducted red carpet and sit-down interviews with celebrities like Ginnifer Goodwin and The Backstreet Boys and live-blogged at special events like the 21st Screen Actors Guild Awards, 67th Directors Guild Awards, and 87th Academy Awards.
While studying journalism in Austin, Olivia served as the Entertainment Director for Texas Student Television (TSTV), the only FCC-licensed student-run television station in the country. Olivia worked as the Executive Producer for Sneak Peek, the entertainment news show at TSTV. In addition to reviewing live segments for the show (as Live Segment Director from 2013-2014), she dedicated her Thursday nights on the show by discussing the latest in movies, music, fashion, celebrities, hosting, producing live segments, constructing video packages, floor-directing, and operating the camera. She served as a red carpet correspondent, interviewing actors among the likes of James Franco, Josh Duhamel, Chad Michael Murray, Jason Bateman, Snoop Dogg, Justin Long, and directors, and producers at both the Austin Film Festival (AFF) and South by Southwest Film (SXSW) Festival. She has also interned at KABB FOX 29 San Antonio, the FOX-affiliate news station her father worked at nearly 17 years ago.
Olivia's journalism aspirations stem from watching her father work as a sports and news broadcaster in San Antonio. She felt so captivated by the stories he would cover, some including the SuperBowl and the NBA Finals. As she grew older, she further developed her passion for storytelling and all that comes with it: meeting and connecting with individuals from all backgrounds, and sharing to the public messages that those people bring to the table -- through print, audio, and visual mediums.
