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 1998 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.Andrea Lampros, "Broadcast Blues: Former KTVU anchor Leslie Griffith says if television news is in trouble, so are we",The Monthly, November 2008.
She continued to write for news publications, including The Huffington PostThe Huffington Post: Leslie Griffith and the San Francisco Chronicle"Notables at the Chronicle", Columbia Journalism Review
For many years, she was concerned with the problem of tuberculosis in circus elephants. She published an article on the issue in 2007Leslie Griffith, "The Elephant in the Room", Truthout.org. and later wrote and directed the award-winning documentary, When Giants Fall.When Giants Fall, Internet Movie Database.
In 2005, she established the Leslie R. Griffith Woman of Courage Scholarship to help young women.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.
She had a small part as a TV anchor in the 1999 film True Crime.Full cast, True Crime, Internet Movie Database
Personal life and death Griffith and her first husband divorced after two years of marriage. 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.
Awards Casey Award for "Candy Kids" with Roland De Wolk at KTVU, 1998.1998 Casey Award "Candy Kids" (Search for "TV: Short Form" and "1998") Emmy for Election Night coverage with KTVU News, 2001.2001 Emmy – ON CAMERA NEWS – ANCHORS Election Night News KTVU Emmy for "My 20th Century: The Battle for California" for KTVU, 2001.2001 Emmy – CULTURAL AFFAIRS PROGRAM My 20th Century: The Battle for California with Leslie Donaldson, Producer; Leslie Griffith, Anchor; Faith Fancher, Diane Guerrazzi, Bob MacKenzie, Reporters; Steve Shilsky, Editor Emmy for On Camera News Anchor, 2002.2002 Emmy ON CAMERA NEWS – ANCHORS Emmy for "Lost Children of Romania" with KTVU, 2003.2003 Emmy – SERIOUS NEWS FEATURE-SERIES Lost Children of Romania KTVU 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.Diablo Magazine report on Genesis winners APTRA Award for Best Anchor, 2005.2005 APTRA – BEST ANCHOR, OR ANCHOR TEAM
References
External links Personal website