Mary Jo Perino-Ford is a former television sports journalist. She was named Kentucky Sportscaster of the Year in 2009 and 2010 [1] and in 2011 was the first woman elected to the board of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. [2] [3]
Perino was raised in Alexandria, Minnesota. [4] Her grandfather started a television station, and her father worked there, and her interest in becoming an anchor began while she was a child and visiting her father at work. [4]
In 1999, Perino completed her Bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri. [5]
After graduating college, Perino first worked in television as a reporter in Terra Haute, Indiana, eventually also becoming a sports anchor on weekends for a year. [4] [5] She was then hired by the LEX18 sports department in 2002 and was a weekend anchor for four years. [4] In July 2006, Perino joined the CNN Headline News network as a sports anchor. [6] In 2007, she left CNN Headline News and returned to LEX18 as the main sports anchor. [4] Perino was the Sports Director at WLEX in Lexington, Kentucky before leaving in December 2020 for Sema4, a laboratory specializing in women’s health and genetics. [5] [7] [8]
Her favorite football team is the Minnesota Vikings. [4] She and her son are also fans of the Kentucky Wildcats. [4]