Fiona McAllister

Broadcast News Director

Fiona McAllister ‘26 is studying journalism with a minor in sociology. McAllister is a journalist who is passionate about covering news stories for all mediums. Her previous work as Executive Producer of ENN Tonight and Producer of On-Air has led her to hold the position of Broadcast News Director. Looking to the future, Fiona is interested in producing and reporting. Find her best work on her portfolio.

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Recent Articles

NEWS 11/21/25 10:37am

Tiny home community for formerly incarcerated women breaks ground

By Fiona McAllister

Benevolence Farm in Graham will be the first tiny home community in North Carolina for formerly incarcerated women. These seven new tiny homes will house one person per unit. The Benevolence Farm goal is to cultivate leadership and promote sustainable livelihoods with individuals impacted by the criminal legal system in North Carolina, according to its website. “It is pretty surreal to see this tiny home groundbreaking ceremony happen today,” Executive Director of Benevolence Farm Kristen Powers said. “We just didn't know if this would even be possible.”

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LIFESTYLE 11/7/25 9:22pm

Elon University celebrates second annual SUBFest

By Fiona McAllister

Elon University’s Student Union Board hosted their second annual SUBFest on Nov. 7. Young Commons was filled with live music from students, free food and student-run businesses. Elon University's radio station WSOE 89.3 was also featured and had a station where students could paint shirts and vinyl records. After months of planning, Elon senior and SUB’s special projects chair Caroline Reich said planning for this year’s festival felt less hectic than the year prior.  “This year I felt a lot more confident. I was almost like, ‘Man, I can't believe I was so nervous about this last year,’“ Reich said. 

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NEWS 11/6/25 11:38pm

Elon University President, Vice President of Student Life answer SGA questions

By Fiona McAllister

Elon University President Connie Book and the Vice President of Student Life Jon Dooley answered a multitude of questions from Elon’s Student Government Association about general university inquiries. On top of SGA’s questions, Book answered additional questions from Elon News Network about the Roberts Academy. Book did say that Elon University is not paying for any of the academy’s expenses. “If you're talking about cash, we're not doing cash,” Book said in an interview with Elon News Network. “We're definitely giving leadership time and the faculty time to help partner to get this set up. So, from a strategic effort, the university is participating in that.”

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NEWS 11/6/25 9:45am

Q&A: SGA vice president of finance prepares for quarter 3 funding

By Fiona McAllister

As Elon’s Student Government Association’s quarter three funding requests are due 11:59 p.m. Nov. 7, SGA’s Vice President of Finance Ian Brecker said student organizations getting their budget requests in earlier will help both himself and SGA’s finance board when it comes to making decisions. "We try to say, get them in early, and I’ll be more than happy to review it. And you can even, I even offer this to everyone, any org., any exec. member, to come to our office hours, my office hours and I could walk through with you, 'Is this descriptive enough? Is this good enough?'” Brecker said.

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NEWS 11/1/25 1:28pm

City of Graham's Bill Cooke Park to expand nature trail

By Fiona McAllister

The City of Graham received a Parks and Recreation Trust Fund grant totaling $307,725 to support the expansion of Bill Cooke Park. North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein announced that more than $8.7 million in PARTF grants were awarded to 22 North Carolina parks and recreation projects. “We’ll take a larger look at what the property could hold, and again, a deeper look at what the community may want,” Recreation and Parks Director for the City of Graham Brian Faucette said.

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NEWS 10/8/25 12:27pm

NC governor proposes red flag laws after Southport shooting

By Fiona McAllister

After a mass shooting in Southport, North Carolina killed three people and left five others injured, North Carolina Governor Josh Stein brought up the idea of introducing red flag laws. Red flag laws allow the government to temporarily require people to turn their guns in if their mental health may be seen as a threat. "It's a good idea," Stein said during a press conference. "There are people, in our community, who people know are a risk. A risk to others, a risk to themselves, and they should not have access to firearms."

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NEWS 10/7/25 9:59am

Suspects arrested after shooting in Green Level

By Fiona McAllister

The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference to announce arrests from a shooting that happened Sept. 20 in Green Level, North Carolina. Five people were injured by gunfire. The sheriff’s office has made two arrests in relation to the ongoing investigation. Cedric Lamont Watson Jr., 20, has been charged with 18 counts. Javiya A. Parker, 19, was also arrested in relation to the shooting and has been charged with one count of felony accessory after the fact of assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill. Parker’s bond was set at $50,000, but Parker has been released after posting bond.

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NEWS 9/24/25 9:22pm

Elon University publishes annual security, fire safety report

By Fiona McAllister and Nia Bedard

Elon University released its annual security and fire safety report on Sept. 24 in compliance with the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990. This act requires that any institutions that participate in any student financial aid programs within Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 must disclose campus crime statistics and security information. The report includes crime that occurred on campus and within buildings owned by Elon, and includes data from 2022 to 2024. The report showed a 93.3% decrease in cases of rape and a 64.4% decrease in drug violations.

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NEWS 9/24/25 6:56pm

Elon’s Student Government Association helps fund HealthEU rock wall

By Fiona McAllister

As Elon University's new HealthEU building is growing from the ground up, Elon’s Student Government Association lended a huge helping hand in making it happen: $250,000 to be exact. A record signed on March 13, 2025, states that the Vice President of Student Life, Jon Dooley, approached SGA asking for funds to contribute to the rock wall that will go into HealthEU. SGA offered to match a $250,000 donation to total a donation of $500,000. In this record, it states that Dooley would honor this commitment by permanently naming an area of the HealthEU building for SGA. 

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NEWS 9/19/25 2:12pm

Elon University students react to death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk

By Fiona McAllister

Conservative political activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on Sept. 10 during a campus event at Utah Valley University. Kirk had built a reputation for traveling both across the United States and internationally to engage in debates at colleges and universities as well as starting Turning Point USA, a group originally started by Kirk that aims to promote conservative politics to young people. His death has sparked reflection among students at Elon University about the role of political discourse and gun control.

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NEWS 9/19/25 12:23am

Elon University president answers questions about Queens University of Charlotte merger

By Fiona McAllister

Elon University President Connie Book answered questions from Elon’s Student Government Association about the potential merger with Queens University on Sept. 18 and how it will affect sports, potential transfer students and staff. Book said this idea began at the beginning of this academic year as she was visiting other colleges and universities in the area. Book said she is looking to gauge more questions and feedback about this potential merger from students and staff. In addition to Book answering questions about the merger with Queens, Elon class of 2029 senators, president and treasurer were also sworn in at the meeting.

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NEWS 9/11/25 7:31pm

“GOD BLESS CHARLIE KIRK”; a poster for the conservative activist appears on West Haggard

By Fiona McAllister

A poster with the words “GOD BLESS CHARLIE KIRK” appeared on the corner of West Haggard and North Williamson Avenue on Sept. 11 following the death of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10. Kirk died after being shot in the neck, according to a statement from Turning Point USA. In the evening the poster was covered by pieces of paper with statements including “Kirk said he doesn’t believe in empathy” and “Care like this when it’s a 3rd grade classroom”.

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NEWS 9/2/25 1:05pm

CNBC names North Carolina top state for business in 2025

By Fiona McAllister

North Carolina was rated the number one state in the country for business. According to CNBC, North Carolina has a “solid economy, a world-class workforce and a wealth of corporate hospitality” — therefore, North Carolina was ranked the highest overall. Assistant teaching professor of economics at Elon University Devon Hawkins said North Carolina,  received this ranking because of affordability within southern states. “The scarcity of money, the scarcity of choice, affordability, the balance of how much I can afford and my lifestyle here — the more choices we have in life, the more happiness that correlates to that,” Hawkins said.

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LIFESTYLE 8/27/25 9:50am

Una nueva tienda abre sus puertas en el centro de Elon

By Fiona McAllister

Una nueva tienda de ropa ha abierto sus puertas en el centro de Elon. Se espera que la tienda, llamada Brown, esté completamente operativa en las próximas dos semanas, según el propietario, Justin Duszlak. Brown se encuentra en East Lebanon Avenue, en el local que anteriormente ocupaba la boutique Simply Oak antes de su cierre el 31 de marzo. Duszlak comentó que las renovaciones comenzaron el 4 de julio y finalizaron en aproximadamente un mes. Duszlak indicó que su objetivo era tener la tienda funcionando en septiembre para el nuevo año escolar.

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LIFESTYLE 8/27/25 9:40am

New shop opens its doors in downtown Elon

By Fiona McAllister

A new clothing store has set up shop in downtown Elon. The store, named Brown, is expected to be fully operational in the next two weeks, according to store owner Justin Duszlak. Brown is located on West Lebanon Avenue, in the store previously used by the boutique Simply Oak before its closing March 31. Duszlak said renovations started July 4 and finished updating the storefront in around a month. Duszlak said her goal was to have her store up and running by September for the new school year. Brown opened earlier than expected on Aug. 22 for Elon’s new student move-in day.

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NEWS 8/26/25 1:05pm

Website traffic on first day of classes causes Moodle issues

By Fiona McAllister

An email sent to all Elon University students, faculty and staff from the technology update team stated that Moodle is experiencing “significant slowness and temporary outages” due to the high traffic on the first day of classes. The technology service team said the vendor for Moodle is looking into this issue and is performing emergency maintenance to resolve the issue. The technology service team suggests that if you need to share time-sensitive files, use Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Teams and print hard copies of materials.

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NEWS 8/13/25 6:48pm

Elon University Campus Police announces temporary delay to freshman parking lots

By Fiona McAllister

As the start of the academic year approaches, Elon University Campus Police released an update about the construction of the freshman parking lot at the Francis Center. Due to delays caused by weather, freshmen will be parking in Danieley Center lots, a section of the Hunt B parking lot, which is located behind the Schar Center, and designated parking locations on south campus. According to Elon University Chief of Police Joseph LeMire that these new changes to parking are temporary.

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NEWS 7/15/25 10:15am

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reports one case of measles in NC: What to do

By Fiona McAllister

Measles cases in the United States have reached a record high since the disease was declared eliminated in the states in 2000. The recent outbreak shows the highest number of U.S. measles cases in 33 years. Similar to the mumps outbreak on campus in 2019, Dean of Student Health and Well-Being Jana Lynn Patterson said that the team was able to partner with facility services and provide vaccinations to students. “We organized and had a mass vaccine clinic on campus within two days,” Patterson said. “They went to the state and got the vaccines, and they brought their nurses over here and vaccinated hundreds of people.”

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NEWS 6/18/25 3:43pm

“It’s not riots happening in LA”: Summer Study USA programs grapple with anti-ICE protests

By Fiona McAllister

Elon University students studying in Los Angeles, California are witnessing protests against Immigration Customs Enforcement errupt accross the city. Director of Elon Los Angeles Brad Lemack said that students’ safety is the program’s number one priority. The university program is located in Hollywood, California — almost six miles from LA. Lemack said that Hollywood has not been impacted by protests. In January, LA was hit with a string of wildfires. Lemack said the Elon Los Angeles program worked through the fires differently than the downtown LA protests, though still with the goal of keeping students safe. 

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LIFESTYLE 5/15/25 3:31pm

Student Firefighters: The Blend of Education and Emergency Response

By Fiona McAllister

When emergencies strike in Elon, a unique team of heroes rushes to the scene— college students. The Town of Elon Fire Department consists of full and part-time employees and volunteers, covering two stations in Elon. For student firefighters responding to campus emergency calls is about more than fulfilling a duty. It’s an opportunity to connect with peers during moments of need, strengthening bonds and fostering a sense of community. From routine alarms to critical emergencies, these encounters help bridge the gap between professional responsibility and personal relationships on campus.

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