Animal Rights

Jane Velez-Mitchell on Four Decades in Broadcast and Building the Animal Rights Movement

Journalist Jane Velez-Mitchell spent decades in local news and at CNN Headline News before turning her platform entirely toward animal advocacy. She joins Sean A. Russell to trace that path.

Vegans Explore Podcast

Episode 43 · Dec 13, 2025 · 67 min

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From WCBS to CNN to Full-Time Activism

Jane's career took her from local news in Fort Myers and Minneapolis to eight years as a reporter and anchor at WCBS in New York, then to a weekday anchor role in Los Angeles, and eventually to CNN Headline News, where she was given a weekly segment on animal issues that ran for six years. When that show ended, she asked to keep her social following and launched Jane Unchained, turning full time to documenting animal rights protests that mainstream media rarely covered.

Building a Movement, Not Just a Network

Jane Unchained now runs on roughly 70 volunteer contributors going live from protests and events around the world. She points to the Beyond Meat IPO as a turning point that gave plant-based eating new legitimacy in the eyes of skeptics, and argues that once money entered the conversation, public perception shifted fast.

Jane Unchained runs on roughly 70 volunteer contributors worldwide
PlantBasedNeighbor.com connects vegans with others in their own zip code
Her core message: use your existing profession and platform to advocate for animals

Her advice to anyone unsure how to get involved is simple: you do not need to become a full-time activist. Lawyers can support animal law groups, singers can write songs, and anyone with a phone can document what mainstream media overlooks.