Laura Diaz (TV anchor)
Laura Diaz | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 16, 1958 Newscaster |
| Years active | 1983–present |
Laura Diaz (born February 16, 1958) is an American
Early life and career
Diaz, a first generation Mexican-American, was born in Santa Paula, a small community in Ventura County, California. Her family moved to the Santa Clarita Valley when she was four years old. She is Roman Catholic.[4]
Diaz graduated from
In 1985, Diaz began working as a weekend anchor, and three years later, she began anchoring KABC-TV'S 6 pm weekday edtion of Eyewitness News. After the departure of Lisa McRee (who was selected to replace Joan Lunden on Good Morning America) in 1997, Diaz was named co-anchor of Eyewitness News at 5 pm and 11 pm alongside Harold Greene and later with Marc Brown after Greene departed in 2000. This promotion made her the first female Hispanic lead anchor at an English language television station in Los Angeles.
Diaz joined
She joined the weekend edtions of Fox 11 News alongside FOX news anchor Susan Hirasuna in May 2012.
Awards
Diaz is a fourteen-time Emmy Award winner and a three-time Imagen Award winner.[6] In August 2011, Diaz and her team won the Imagen Award for Best Local Informational Program. It focused on the controversial topic of African American and Latino race relations in Los Angeles. This was the first special produced and aired under the CBS2 "Eye on Our Community" banner. In 2006 Diaz earned an Emmy for Individual Achievement in Feature Reporting. She also won back-to-back Golden Mike Awards in 2005 and 2006 for best feature reporting.
In June 2005, she landed the first in-depth television interview with incoming Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. That story, which Diaz produced and reported, earned her a national Imagen Award in 2006.
In 2003, Diaz received the L.A. Press Club's highest honor, the Joseph M. Quinn Award for journalistic excellence and distinction.
Creative contribution
Diaz sits on the advisory board of trustees of The Joyful Child Foundation,[7] started by children's advocate Erin Runnion. Diaz's commitment to this cause grew from her extensive coverage of the murder of Runnion's daughter, Samantha, by a sexual predator in 2002. The foundation works to organize neighborhood watches around the country and keep child predators off the streets.
By the end of 2004, 51 programs had been established concentrated in the Orange County area of southern California. The California Conservatory of the Arts sponsored a group called the Kids Next Door, who recorded a fundraising Christmas album at the end of 2004, with funds going to the Joyful Child Foundation. In addition to funding the "Samantha's Pride" initiative, the Joyful Child Foundation uses donations to fund children's creative writing and artistic programs; fund nonprofit organisations that seek to prevent child abuse and abduction; and fund research on predator behavior and recidivism.
Diaz is a member of the Diversity Committee for the prestigious Pasadena Playhouse, which has a rich history in launching new works and landmark revivals. It is deeply committed to cultural and theatrical diversity.
References
- ^ "Eye On Our Community' With Laura Diaz". 16 December 2010.
- ^ "Laura Diaz Leaving CBS2 To Pursue Producing Career". 9 September 2011.
- ^ Diaz at IMDb
- ^ "Balancing Act". Los Angeles Times. 13 December 1998.
- ^ "Laura Diaz - cbs2.com". Archived from the original on March 26, 2009. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
- ^ Awards of Laura Diaz
- ^ The Joyful Child Foundation