Melissa McDermott is the daughter of Country Music Disc Jockey's Hall of Fame member and longtime
Wichita, Kansas media personality "Ol' Mike" Oatman. She graduated from the
University of Kansas with a
B.S. degree in broadcast
news from the
William Allen White School of Journalism and received her master's degree in Psychology from Pace University in New York. She worked as the 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. anchor at KAYS-TV (now
KBSH) in
Hays, Kansas. She worked at
KSNW-TV in
Wichita, Kansas, initially going by the name of Melissa Beck. She and her ex-husband,
Todd McDermott, were named co-anchors at KSNW. McDermott later worked as 6 p.m. anchor and won several awards as an investigative reporter at
WJLA-TV in
Washington, DC. From 2000 through March, 2006, Melissa McDermott anchored CBS's overnight newscast,
Up to the Minute. McDermott now lives in the New York City area and is working on a number of documentaries. She has two children. Melissa worked as a clinician at St Christopher.inc in Dobbs Ferry NY, and helping at-risk youth and their families prepare for their lives ahead. ==Accomplishments==