Rich Bodee: Telling Stories that Matter

A single course changed the trajectory of Rich Bodee’s life. Bodee ’16 transferred to Dominican prepared to study economics. But just one semester in, his newfound passion for storytelling and uncovering truths—acquired through an Introduction to Journalism elective—outweighed his zeal for financial forecasts.

He changed his major to journalism and never looked back. 

“I fell in love with the idea that one story, even one sentence, could change someone’s entire perspective,” Bodee shared. “I wanted the chance to tell stories that matter to people and shine a light on difficult topics.”

He began honing his reporting skills at the Dominican Star student newspaper, buoyed by “fantastic” professors and opportunities to meet journalism heavyweights like Marvin Kalb and Georgie Anne Geyer on campus, he says. Just four years after graduation, Bodee, a reporter with 13 WREX News in Rockford, accepted his first Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for coverage of a violent 2020 protest. A year later, Bodee’s work as an investigative reporter for ABC57 in South Bend, Indiana, earned him a second Murrow Award for shining a light on police and prosecutorial misconduct in the city of Elkhart. It’s a series of which he is especially proud, he says.

As a morning news anchor for the station, Bodee also took home an Emmy Award for his coverage of a severe winter storm.

Today, Bodee—the grandson of alumna Claire Cusack Cronin ’49 and great-grandnephew of Sr. Thomasine Cusack ’28, longtime professor of economics—is a news writer for Chicago-based cable network NewsNation. He focuses on international news coverage and producing segments for NewsNation Live with Marni Hughes and NewsNation Prime with Natasha Zouves.

“I don’t know what is going to happen day-to-day—which is what I love,” he said.

Watch one of his news reports.