Alicia Barnes is a 12-time Emmy-nominated journalist—including 8 nominations with Queen City News—and a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award winner. Widely recognized as one of North Carolina’s premier broadcasters, she earned back-to-back honors as Best News Anchor from the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters in 2025 and 2024 and was named RTDNAC Anchor of the Year in 2025.
Alicia joined Queen City News in Charlotte in August 2021, where she anchors the 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. weekday newscasts. She also hosts Local Roots on QCN+, a series uncovering the hidden stories, history, and culture that shaped the Charlotte region.
A multi-year finalist for TV News Anchor of the Year by RTDNAC (2025, 2024, 2022, 2021), Alicia earned a 2025 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for her field anchoring of Queen City Helping Our Hometowns: Asheville.
Recent Awards with Queen City News:
- 2025 & 2024 Winner, Best News Anchor, NC Association of Broadcasters
- 2025 Winner, Anchor of the Year, RTDNAC
- 2025 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award
- 2025 NATAS Nashville/Mid-South – 3 Emmy Nominations: Talent,
Interview/Discussion, Evening Newscast - 2024 NATAS Nashville/Mid-South – 3 Emmy Nominations
- 2023 Winner, Voted Charlotte’s Best News Anchor, QC Nerve Magazine
- 2023 NATAS Southeast – Interview/Discussion Emmy Nomination
- 2022 NATAS Nashville/Mid-South – Interview/Discussion Emmy Nomination
- 2021 NATAS Southeast – Best TV Anchor Emmy Nomination
- 2025, 2024, 2022, 2021 Finalist, RTDNAC TV News Anchor of the Year
- 2024 & 2021 Finalist, RTDNAC TV Anchor Team of the Year
- 2021 TV Personality of the Year, Award of Merit, SC Broadcasters Association
Alicia launched her career in Atlanta, Georgia, reporting for WXIA-TV (NBC) and freelancing for FOX 5 Atlanta, earning a Regional Emmy nomination early in her career. She later became weekend anchor for NBC 7–KNSD and KSWB-TV in San Diego, where readers voted her San Diego’s Favorite Female Newscaster (944 Magazine, January 2007 Platinum Awards).
From 2008 to 2018, Alicia anchored at ABC Columbia, covering major stories such as the 2015 floods, the State House Confederate Flag removal, and the Charleston Church Shootings. She earned a Regional Emmy nomination and won a Southeastern NATAS EMMA Award for Excellence in My Market in 2016. The Columbia City Council honored her contributions with Alicia Barnes Day on March 8, 2018, presented LIVE on WOLO-TV by Mayor Steve Benjamin.
Alicia joined WIS News 10 (NBC) in 2019, earning two additional Regional Emmy nominations.
Outside of television, she has appeared on the covers of Lake Murray Lifestyle Magazine (2020, 2021) and Columbia Living Magazine (2012, 2014, 2016, 2019). In 2003, she was named one of Atlanta’s 50 Most Beautiful People by Jezebel Magazine.
One of her proudest honors is serving as a torchbearer for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, carrying the Olympic flame through her hometown of Atlanta.
Alicia and her family are active supporters of the arts through The Crown Society at The Mint Museum, where she joined the Board of Trustees in 2024.
Follow Alicia Barnes on Twitter and Instagram: @AliciaBarnesTV
For speaking engagement requests, email Alicia.Barnes@QCNews.com