MONMOUTH, Ill. — As major television network ABC prepares for an anchor change for its “World News” program, a Monmouth College news anchor is eager to report back to work, and she’ll soon be heading to the local ABC affiliate for a little camera time of her own.

Emily Friedrich, a senior communication and public relations major from Heyworth, is returning as the main anchor of the weekly MC-TV news broadcasts. The first live 20-minute show of the academic year is set for Sept. 9 at 5 p.m., and can be seen on campus cable channel 15. It will be rebroadcast that night at 10 p.m. and should be available to an off-campus audience via the Internet by late afternoon on Sept. 10. The broadcasts will continue on Wednesdays throughout the school year, reaching a campus audience first before going out to the world the following afternoon.

Communication lecturer Chris Goble is the faculty member in charge of the broadcasts, and the college is also fortunate to have former NBC Nightly News producer Joe Angotti in the communication department as a visiting distinguished professor. It was through Angotti that Friedrich learned of an opportunity to visit WQAD on Sept. 21. It involved a contest to attract the most Facebook friends to follow WQAD news personality Jason Fechner.

“He’s experimenting with social networking and is always updating his Twitter and Facebook pages and posting a blog. It was perfect for me, because I’m young and a Facebook creeper,” laughed Friedrich, who said she was able to help Fechner add about 70 friends.

“She blew everyone else away,” said Fechner, who anchors the WQAD-TV news at 5 and 6:30 p.m. and was a student of Angotti’s at Northwestern University.

“That guy, he’s the best,” said Fechner. “In high school, undergrad and graduate school, I’ve never come across a teacher who was more beloved than Joe Angotti was by all his students.”

Fechner said that Friedrich will have two roles on her Sept. 21 visit to WQAD. First, she will appear live on the 6:30 p.m. broadcast as part of a Q&A feature. She will also host an Internet feature that can be seen on wqad.com/630 during the TV broadcast’s commerical breaks.

“That’s something that’s only available for our Internet viewers, and Emily will be in charge of it that day,” Fechner said. “We’ll have some fun with it.”

Of her role with the MC-TV broadcasts, Friedrich joked, “I’m Chris’s minion.” In actuality, she is entering her second year as the main anchor of the weekly news broadcasts and is also a producer. Three senior reporters contribute regularly to the program, and Goble explained that all students in his “Television Workshop” class – including non-communication majors – are involved with the broadcast’s reporting and production.

Another element of MC-TV, said Goble, is its “Fusion” crew. “That’s the entertainment side,” he explained. “They put together one or two shorts per week, and they do the commercials.”

“The shorts are whatever their creative minds come up with, and they’re very popular with our students,” said Friedrich. “Having some of their old stuff run continuously on our campus cable channel has really helped get our name out there.”

Friedrich is clearly enjoying her time at Monmouth and with MC-TV, but she knows “the real world” beckons.

“My parents say I have to leave (next May), so I want to pursue a career in broadcast journalism,” she said.

Asked if she might one day aspire to the seat that ABC’s Diane Sawyer will soon occupy, Friedrich replied, “At this point, I’m more interested in being a reporter.”

One recent MC-TV anchor who is currently in the broadcasting industry is Heather Prater, a 2008 graduate who once interned for NBC’s “Today Show.” Friedrich may run into Prater during her time at WQAD, as she recently started work at the station. Prater will be one of two producers for “Good Morning Quad Cities,” which airs from 5 to 7 a.m., and she will be seen on-air giving traffic and travel updates.