Steve Noviello is shaking up how we see local TV news. The longtime consumer advocate for Fox 4, he’s also the host of two shows that loosen the tie on the station’s lineup. The Ten is the lighthearted lifestyle program he hosts with Paige Ellenberger at 10 a.m., while Last Call With Steve Noviello finds him cutting up with a rotating panel of guests and riffing on such surprisingly divisive topics as airplane etiquette and whether you can ever share a toothbrush with your spouse. Since its debut in 2024, Last Call has become a hit in its 11 p.m. spot, proving there’s more to late-night programming than Kimmel and Colbert.
Away from the camera, the 51-year-old Noviello has two children with his husband, Doug Bedner. He grew up on the North Shore of Long Island in Jericho, N.Y., where he showed a youthful knack for winning an audience; he was class president of his high school. His upbeat charm and affability make him the ideal candidate for the first installment of a new series about the personalities behind the local TV news personalities.
Steve Noviello on “Last Call,” his local late-night show on Fox 4 at 11 p.m.
courtesy Steve Noviello
What’s a skill you have that no one knows about?
I can simultaneously hum and beatbox.
Guilty pleasure binge watch?
Real Housewives of New Jersey. It reminds me of home. The accents, the clothes, the food traditions. I come from a big Italian family. Italians fight hard and love hard.
News Roundups
What’s playing in your car while you drive?
This is actually a topic of conversation at work, because I don’t listen to music in my car. I’m either talking to my kids or enjoying the silence when they’re not with me.
Is there a Texas name or word that nearly trips you up each time you say it on-air?
Any of the “trick” counties or towns. Bexar County, Rio Vista, Italy.
What was the biggest news story of your career, and why did it matter?
The most impactful story is probably the one I did on my own identity theft. That was an insane story. I noticed a fraud alert on my credit card, so I called the company and found out somebody had used my credit card to check into the Hilton Garden Inn in Richardson. I called the cops, but I also went to the hotel, and I confronted the woman, face-to-face. That segment was a combination of being in the right place at the right time, luck, smarts, and most of it was shot on my iPhone.
The hardest story I’ve ever told was the stories of the campers and counselors who didn’t survive the floods at Camp Mystic. It’s the only time I remember fighting back tears on live television. What the audience didn’t know at the time of those broadcasts was that some of those little girls were classmates of my children. It was the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do as a journalist and as a neighbor.
Craziest thing that’s happened on-air?
Oh gosh, this probably changes at least once a week now that I co-host The Ten with Paige Ellenberger. Had you told me when I was earning my master’s degree in journalism that I would be fed pudding by a blindfolded colleague on live television I probably wouldn’t have believed you. But here we are!