Before joining CNN, Meade worked at NBC Chicago affiliate WMAQ-TV where she co-anchored the weekend newscasts and also served as a general assignment correspondent for the station. Before that, she anchored the morning newscasts. During her tenure with the NBC affiliate, she covered the 1996 Olympics, which included special reporting on the Centennial Olympic Park bombing.

Meade won a regional Emmy Award for her efforts covering the 1995 collision between a school bus and a train in Fox River Grove, Ill., that killed seven and injured more than 24 teenagers. Additionally, she was nominated for a regional Emmy for her report on how to decrease chances of injury in survivable plane crashes. In October 2005, Meade was inducted into the Ohio Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Before joining WMAQ, Meade was the morning news anchor of WSVN-TV's Today in Florida in Miami. She also served as the station's noon anchor and health reporter. She was also an anchor and reporter at WCMH-TV in Columbus, Ohio, and at WJW-TV in Cleveland. Meade began her career in broadcasting at WMFD-TV in Mansfield, Ohio, where she worked as a reporter.

In December 2004, Meade co-hosted the Midwest Emmy’s with MSNBC’s Lester Holt. In 2002, Meade was recognized by Lycos as one of the top 20 most popular television news personalities in the broadcast news industry.

Meade attended Malone College and Ashland University where she majored in radio/television production, programming and performance and minored in political science. She won Ashland University's Young Alumnus Award for her achievements in broadcasting and served as the commencement speaker for the university's 2005 graduation ceremonies.