Taryn Asher

Ever since she was a kid, Taryn Asher knew she wanted to be a broadcast journalist. The award-winning FOX 2 News anchor grew up in Fenton and attended Powers Catholic High School in Flint before earning a degree in journalism from Michigan State University, where she also studied political science.

Asher has been at FOX 2 since 2007, where she anchors the 5 p.m. news with Roop Raj. Throughout her career, she has won six Emmy Awards, including Best News Anchor and multiple awards from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters and the Associated Press.

She got her start as an anchor/reporter at Lansing’s CBS station before heading to ABC12 in Flint, where she met her husband, Jason Carr, who now works at WDIV Channel 4. The couple, who live in Bloomfield Township, have a 10-year-old daughter. “She is the light of our life,” said Asher. “She is a joy.”

When balancing parenthood and their profession – she works nights and her husband works mornings – she said, “I try to make it work, but it’s a challenge for any family. We look forward to the little things in between, like summer, weekends and vacations to make it count.

“During the pandemic, everyone has their ups and downs. For me, it’s about taking it one day at a time,” said Asher, who worked from home for eight months during the pandemic, when she won an Emmy for her coverage of the Black Lives Matter protests in Detroit.

“From my basement – we call it the lounge – I used my phone as my camera and I had no script,” she explained. “It was all happening live. That’s when work experience really counts, like our experience with police departments. Things like that allow you to be able to cover these events in a knowledgeable and compassionate way.”

She and her family also had COVID toward the end of 2020, when she and her husband had to work from home. “You can’t just put on your pajamas. We are the first people turn to when they need the news and there is a lot of preparation,” she said.

When it comes to the competitive nature of her profession, she feels Detroit is unlike other markets. “People really do enjoy all the news stations. They feel like they know us,” said Asher. “I only compete with myself. I have so many female friends in the business and I’ve only worked in Michigan markets where we are rooted in the community.”

Asher clearly has a passion for what she does. “I love being on the desk and anchoring the news,” she said. “I want to give people a voice and bring change and resolution.”

Current events, like the recent school shooting, can be especially hard to handle. “Any story we tell involving children or the most vulnerable is really the most troubling,” Asher explained. “You have to learn how to compartmentalize, but we really do care about the people in our communities.”

She also supports local organizations including Lighthouse of Oakland County and COTS homeless shelter through fundraising events. “We turn them into date nights as well,” she said. “That means a lot to us to try to teach our daughter that same message and pass along the importance. She gets to see it up close through different charities where people really need their services.”

So, what’s next for this talented anchor? There have been reports that Asher may replace Fox-2's Monica Gayle, who is said to be considering retirement, but there is no official word on that yet.

“I love what I do and I’m excited for the future to see what it holds,” said Asher. “I’ve learned in the last 25 years how to take it a day at a time, and how to deal with the now.”

Story: Jeanine Matlow

Photo: Laurie Tennent