Leslie Griffith Explained
Leslie Ray Griffith (January 1, 1956 – August 10, 2022) was an American writer and journalist. She worked for 22 years at KTVU in the San Francisco Bay Area as a reporter and as a news anchor.
Early life
Born in Tomball, Texas, Griffith worked her way through college as a single mother, working as a cleaner.
Career
She began her career in the newspaper business as a journalist for the Associated Press and the Denver Post. Her first television jobs were in Grand Junction, Colorado, and in the Monterey-Salinas market of California. In 1986 she became a weekend reporter and anchor at KTVU in Oakland, California; in March 1996 she became co-anchor of the Ten O'Clock News with Dennis Richmond. For nine years she was sole anchor of the weekend news; on her 25th birthday, she was in Moscow reporting on the Cold War. She resigned from the station in 2006, after 22 years.[1] [2]
She continued to write for news publications, including The Huffington Post[3] and the San Francisco Chronicle[4]
For many years, she was concerned with the problem of tuberculosis in circus elephants. She published an article on the issue in 2007[5] and later wrote and directed the award-winning documentary, When Giants Fall.[6]
In 2005, she established the Leslie R. Griffith Woman of Courage Scholarship to help young women.[7]
She had a small part as a TV anchor in the 1999 film True Crime.[8]
Personal life and death
Griffith and her first husband divorced after two years of marriage.[7] She had two daughters and a son. She died on August 10, 2022, in Lake Chapala, Mexico, from the effects of Lyme disease, which she had contracted in 2015; she moved to Mexico in 2016.[9] [10]
Awards
- Casey Award for "Candy Kids" with Roland De Wolk at KTVU, 1998.[11]
- Emmy for Election Night coverage with KTVU News, 2001.[12]
- Emmy for "My 20th Century: The Battle for California" for KTVU, 2001.[13]
- Emmy for On Camera News Anchor, 2002.[14]
- Emmy for "Lost Children of Romania" with KTVU, 2003.[15]
- Genesis Award for KTVU's Ten O'Clock News "Circus Elephants" feature on the treatment of circus elephants at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, 2004.[16]
- APTRA Award for Best Anchor, 2005.[17]
External links
Notes and References
- News: Chuck Barney. Leslie Griffith resigns at KTVU. East Bay Times. November 17, 2006.
- Andrea Lampros, "Broadcast Blues: Former KTVU anchor Leslie Griffith says if television news is in trouble, so are we",The Monthly, November 2008.
- The Huffington Post: Leslie Griffith
- https://www.cjr.org/the_kicker/notables_at_the_chronicle.php "Notables at the Chronicle"
- Leslie Griffith, "The Elephant in the Room", Truthout.org.
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4006820/ When Giants Fall
- Alex Horvath, "Community: Redwood High program helps teenage moms / KTVU news anchor Leslie Griffith establishes Women of Courage Scholarship to foster success", SFGate (San Francisco Chronicle), June 24, 2005.
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0139668/fullcredits#castg Full cast, True Crime
- News: Amy . Graff . KTVU anchor Leslie Griffith dies 'from the effects of Lyme Disease' . SFGate . August 11, 2022 . August 12, 2022.
- News: Longtime KTVU anchor and reporter Leslie Griffith dies . KTVU . August 10, 2022 . August 12, 2022.
- http://www.journalismcenter.org/awards/pastwinners.cfm 1998 Casey Award
- http://www.emmysf.tv/2001w.html 2001 Emmy – ON CAMERA NEWS – ANCHORS
- http://www.emmysf.tv/2001w.html 2001 Emmy – CULTURAL AFFAIRS PROGRAM
- http://www.emmysf.tv/2002w.html 2002 Emmy ON CAMERA NEWS – ANCHORS
- http://www.emmysf.tv/2003w.html 2003 Emmy – SERIOUS NEWS FEATURE-SERIES
- http://www.diablomag.com/Diablo-Magazine/April-2005/Updates/ Diablo Magazine report on Genesis winners
- http://www.haleisner.com/aptra/2005aptra_awards.htm 2005 APTRA – BEST ANCHOR, OR ANCHOR TEAM
