Jane Watrel
News4 Reporter
Jane Watrel is a general assignment reporter for News4.
Watrel began reporting for News4 in 1999 as a national correspondent. She currently files stories focusing on local issues in our community.
As a military spouse, Watrel has a special interest in stories relating to the Armed Forces. In 2008, she received a Congressional Award from the Blinded American Veterans Foundation for her work on behalf of wounded troops. The organization recognized Watrel's essays in the book Faces of Freedom: Profiles of America's Fallen Heroes. Proceeds from that book were distributed to two organizations that help wounded veterans and their families.
Raised in Slippery Rock, Pa., Watrel graduated from Penn State University with a journalism degree. She began her broadcasting career in Dickinson, N.D., as a reporter, anchor, and eventually, news director. She also worked for stations in South Bend, Ind., Omaha, Neb., and Orlando, Fla.
Watrel has covered many big stories, including the U.S. occupation of Haiti, the funeral of John F. Kennedy, Jr., the Washington area sniper attacks and trials, the rescue of the Pennsylvania coal miners, and many natural disasters. Many of these stories, as well as her reports on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the legal challenges to the 2000 presidential election, were broadcast on NBC stations nationwide.
Watrel is an avid runner and has completed three Marine Corps Marathons. She and her husband, Matthew, live in Alexandria.
