Austin, Texas Top Ten News Babes 2002

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1 Wendy Woolfolk of KXAN 36 started anchoring weekday Firstcast in March 2000, after reporting for News 36 at 6 and 10 pm for more than a year.  She received the honorable mention for best reporter from the Texas Associated Press which included her work in the Tina Cornelius murder case and the story of missing atheist leader Madalyn Murray O'Hair. 

http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=144813

 

 

2  Teresa Rodriguez of KEYE 42 grew up the youngest child of an Air Force Master Sergeant. As the baby of the family she was very shy and it came as a real surprise to her family when Teresa got into broadcasting. "Now I get paid to talk," Teresa jokes. With her family, Teresa has lived and traveled around the world to places including Germany, Japan, Spain, Italy and many other parts of Europe. Her father retired in New Mexico to be close to family who live in that state and across southern Texas. Teresa and her husband Brad met and married in New Mexico. They've been the foster parents of two children. Brad and Teresa are grateful to live in Austin; they say it's a place in which they've always dreamed of living.

http://keyetv.com/anchors/teresar/ 

 

3 Judy Maggio of KVUE 24  

Voted "Best News Anchor in Austin" for the last 11 years by Austin Chronicle readers, and Austin Communicator of the year 1997, Judy Maggio is one of the most familiar faces on television in Central Texas. She doesn't like to be reminded that she's one of the senior anchors in Austin television news. Judy's worked at one station, KVUE, her entire career.

Judy is a Longhorn through-and-through: journalism class of '81. One of the biggest thrills of her career was her one-on-one interview with Lady Bird Johnson in the spring of '96.

http://www.kvue.com/news/anchors/maggio.html 

 

4 Kim Barnes of KVUE 24  "I'm proud to be one of the veterans in the KVUE newsroom. This is my 10th year here. I've been anchoring on the weekends since 1996 and that includes through two pregnancies! During that time, I've also done a lot of reporting. I've covered some really big national stories. I was in Centennial Park during the Atlanta Olympics when the bomb went off. I provided live network coverage and reports for viewers here. I also covered the Branch Davidian stand-off in Waco from the day of the attack through the trial. And, of course, I've covered more stories than I could name, right here in Austin. My favorite stories are about real people doing remarkable things." - Kim Barnes 

 

5 Sabra Gertsch KEYE 42 finds herself in the heart of Texas after growing up along Salt Lake City's Wasatch Front, home of the greatest snow on earth! Instead of skiing on the slopes, Sabra spent thirteen years in ballet studios studying with The San Francisco Ballet School, and the School of Ballet West with whom she performed several times, including the role of Clara in William Christensen's The Nutcracker. Stepping off the stage and into the stands, Sabra played her favorite role as sister to two younger brothers, cheering them on to all-state football achievements and Montana State University track scholarships. Sabra tried a bit of everything before being bitten by the news bug: singing, dancing, and acting. Then, surrounded by wonderful mentors at the University of Utah, and prodded by a mother and father who support all her passions, she set her sights on becoming a roving reporter. Right now she is savoring her opportunity to work in a city that thrives on intellect and politics, and one that offers a potpourri of culture and technology.

http://keyetv.com/anchors/sabrag/ 

 

6 Leslie Cook KXAN 36 Leslie Cook is a weeknight anchor for KXAN TV News 36. Her television news career began in 1992. Before coming to Austin, she worked in Fayetteville, Arkansas at KHBS-TV and in Jonesboro, Arkansas at KAIT-TV.

In her more than nine years in television news, she has covered a variety of stories from crime to politics to health. Leslie's medical reporting won her first place honors in 2000 from the Texas Associated Press. She covered the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles and George W. Bush's Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C. in January 2001.

http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=144797 

 

7 Katherine KisielKatherine Kisiel FOX 7 News in the Morning

Katherine Kisiel joins Joe Bickett and Gordon Smith on FOX 7 NEWS In The Morning after more than a year as FOX 7’s weekend news anchor. Before coming to work at FOX 7, Katherine’s professional credentials include work as a news anchor in Kennewick, Washington, Yakima, Washington and Yuma, Arizona. In addition to anchoring newscasts, Katherine has extensive reporting experience. She has received several awards from the Arizona Associated Press, including 1st place for Spot News and 1st place for Live Team Coverage. Katherine received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism with a minor in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona-Tucson.

 

8 Jennie Blankenship KEYE 42

Television reporting on KEYE in Austin is a joy for Jennie Blankenship. It is a combination of everything she loves: journalism, visual arts, performance, and interaction with other people. It is just plain fun.

Jennie is from Pearland, a suburb of Houston. She has one younger brother, and comes from a close-knit family. "One of the best things I remember about growing up is that we had lots of pets," Jennie says. Her menagerie has included countless horses, dogs, iguanas, parakeets, rabbits, hamsters, ducks, and now, a 13 year-old cat named Miss Kitty.

Hardly a country girl, Jennie started her broadcast career at age 15, as a news anchor for Alvin Community College's radio station KACC. Her dad would drop her off at the station every Saturday at 6 a.m., drink coffee, and listen to his daughter read the news. Jennie was also the editor of her high school newspaper. However, she never thought she would seriously become a reporter. "I wanted to be an artist or a fashion designer," she says. "I come from a pretty creative family, so those were real options in my home." As Jennie would discover, so was television.

9 Kimberly Ball KEYE 42 Kimberly was born in Baltimore, Maryland but raised in Dallas and considers herself a true Texan at heart. A graduate of Bishop Dunne High School, Kimberly attended Catholic schools her entire life. She says one of the most exciting things about college life was the chance to put up her school uniform and wear her own clothes for once. Before becoming a professional broadcaster, Kimberly had the opportunity to do something that many young women across the nation have only dreamed about. As a cheerleader for the world famous Dallas Cowboys, Kimberly cheered them onto victory in Superbowl XXVIII at Georgia's Peach Bowl. She'll forever cherish the memory and the lifelong friends she made.

 

Jenni Lee10 Fox 7 Jenni Lee Anchor/Reporter Jenni Lee came to work for FOX 7 NEWS on September 11, 2001 and immediately became instrumental in the station’s coverage of the terrorist attacks and the impact on Austin and Central Texas. A graduate of UT Austin with a Bachelor of Journalism, Jenni joins FOX 7 from KBTX in Bryan/College Station where she was 6 & 10pm anchor. Jenni is co-anchor of FOX 7 NEWS weekend newscasts in addition to reporting from the field during the week.

During her career, Jenni has covered some major news stories in Texas, including two of the most controversial executions in Texas history: Karla Faye Tucker in 1998 and Gary Graham in 2000. She was also on the scene covering the Texas A&M Bonfire collapse.

Jenni has been very active when it comes to community service. She has worked with the American Heart Association, was a board member with the child advocacy center Scotty's House, and has served as a board member for “Health For All,” a project that provides free health care for the working poor.

When she’s not busy working in front of the camera or for the community, Jenni enjoys eating, lifting weights and reading.

http://www.fox7.com/ (click on Fox 7 News Team)

 

All Time Austin News Babe Winner

Kate (Supple) Kelly formerly of KVUE 24

Kate Kelly anchors Channel 5 Eyewitness News at 4:30 and 5 pm and is a featured reporter on Channel 5 special segments. While at Channel 5, Kelly has held a number of anchoring and reporting roles. Kelly began as a reporter/anchor in January 1984. A few months later, she and reporter Doug Murphy assumed anchor responsibilities for Channel 5 Eyewitness News at 6:30 and 11 pm on the weekends. In April 1987, she began co-anchoring Eyewitness News weeknights at 11 pm with Dave McElhatton and from December 1989 to early 1994 she co-anchor of the 5 and 10 pm newscasts. She then took on the early morning news with Ken Bastida before returning to evenings in 1998.

In 1984, Kate Kelly was named the outstanding young journalist by the Association of Professional Journalists. Over the years Kelly has been nominated several times for local Emmys. In spring of 2002, Kate Kelly won the Radio and Television News Directors Association Award for Outstanding News Series for "The Alaskan Refuge: America's Treasure, America's Oil."

Kelly began her broadcast career as a reporter/anchor for KRCR-TV in Redding, CA., after graduating from Stanford University with a degree in communications in 1979. While at Stanford, Kelly gained valuable reporting skills at Stanford radio station KZSU which helped her to land the reporting position at KRCR-TV. Kelly shot and edited her own news reports and also produced and anchored the 11 PM newscast. Next, Kelly moved to Austin, Tex. in 1980 to work as a reporter for KVUE-TV. She soon moved into the weekend anchor position while continuing as a general assignment reporter as well as covering political stories from the capitol. Two years later, she became the 6 p.m. weeknight co-anchor. While Kelly served as news anchor, the station won the UPI and AP Best Newscast Award in Texas for three years in a row.

Kelly has covered a wide variety of stories including the Presidential elections, the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, Mikhail Gorbachev's visit to the Bay Area, and Pope John Paul II's U.S. tour. Kelly even flew with the Blue Angels during a Fleet Week appearance.

A Bay Area native, Kelly was born and raised in Marin. She currently lives in San Francisco with her husband and two sons.