Melissa Faith Payne joined the News Channel 12 team in December 2003. She started off as a general assignment reporter, but was recently promoted to the anchor desk. You can now catch Melissa every weekend as she delivers all the latest news and headlines.

Melissa has more than six years broadcast journalism experience. Having lived in Utah, Melissa’s first television job was at FOX 13 news in Salt Lake City. A few years later, Melissa returned to Mississippi, for her first on-air job. She was a reporter at WMDN news, and was eventually named main anchor.

In addition to her anchoring duties at WJTV, Melissa also reports for the weekly newscasts three days a week. No stranger to severe weather Melissa has covered Hurricanes Ivan, Dennis, and of course Katrina. She played a significant role in the stations coverage of both the Edgar Ray Killen trial… and The Hargon Triple Murder Case.

In 2003, Melissa won 4 Associated Press Awards, including one for Best Investigative Report. She’s received several community awards for her stories done in both the Meridian and Metro Area communities. In 2004 Melissa and photojournalist Jerry Brooks won several awards from the American Cancer Society for their stories on Relay for Life.

No stranger to the public eye, Melissa was crowned Miss Vicksburg in 1998 and was a top ten finalist in the Miss Utah USA pageant. She had a guest starring role in CBS’ Touched by An Angel. She also starred in the sitcom pilot “The Dewzy House.”

In her spare time, Melissa loves to dabble in the kitchen, travel, or curl up with a good book. Melissa recently married her high school sweetheart Eric. The couple have made their home in the Brandon area.

Look for Melissa Faith Payne on Newschannel 12 - Your Safe Families Station!