USC Annenberg alumnus Kris Van Cleave (B.A. Broadcast Journalism '02) recently won the Washington, D.C. area Emmy Award for "reporter: general assignment," which is his fifth since graduation.
Since moving to Washington D.C.'s WJLA-TV ABC- 7 News/NewsChannel 8 last year, Van Cleave has been a fixture on the awards circuit. He recently won three Society of Professional Journalists "Dateline Awards," including both a first- and second-place finish in the television general news category for pieces on "International Students" and "Bright Light Fight," respectively.
"Since I started in this business my goal has been to find and tell interesting stories, and just cover the news," Van Cleave said. "Along the way, there have been some great stories that I've had the privilege to tell, and some huge events — most recently the Virginia Tech Massacre."
Van Cleave said he has been very fortunate to have his work recognized, but that it is not what motivates him.
"I think Annenberg provided the foundation," he said. "It's the starting point. One of my professors set me up with the internship at KTLA which lead to my job there. The classes and student programs--ATVN and IMPACT--let me get feet wet, helping prepare me to take on the CyberGuy job at KTLA. So Annenberg was the beginning."
A recent Washington Life Magazine article featured Van Cleave's achievements and talked about his some other intangibles that sets him apart from other reporters: "The laid-back new guy with the big smile and cool designer glasses broke the usual newscaster mold when he moved from San Diego to cover metro for WJLA-TV ABC- 7 News/NewsChannel 8 a year and a half ago," according to the article. "But don’t be fooled. Beyond the funky, earnest on-air charm is one intrepid reporter – and he’s got four (now five) Emmys to prove it."
