Julie Watts

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Recently named reporter of the year by the Associated Press, Julie’s Emmy Award winning work has prompted FDA recalls, federal investigations, and forced national corporations to cease illegal business practices.

On the ConsumerWatch, Julie and her team also resolve viewer problems, offer money saving ideas and report on the consumer/business news of the day.

Julie covers two different stories each weeknight at 5pm & 6pm on CBS 5. Her reports also air on KCBS/KCAL in LA and nationally on CBS News.

Julie’s national report “ID Theft Secrets from Behind Bars” recently won the Associated Press Award for “Best Feature Story.” Another national report, “High & Dry: The Capitola Flood Investigation,” earned Julie her third Emmy Award and prompted a prominent insurer to reverse previously denied claims.

A compilation of ConsumerWatch Investigative Reports earned the Radio-Television News Director’s Association (RTNDA) Award for Specialty Reporting in 2011. The judges said the entry “had everything: great production, first rate journalism, and solid story telling. This market is lucky to have this kind of reporting.”

Julie also won the Associated Press award for “Best Spot News Story” in 2011.

In an effort to tell stories that might not otherwise be told, Julie often steps behind the camera. In 2010 she shot, edited and produced “Outsourced: Silicon Valley Students in India.” The series was named Best Feature Story by the Associated Press and earned her the title of best Video Journalist/Multi-Media Journalist by the RTNDA. The judges said it included “unusually thorough reporting and good writing… complemented by thoughtful editing… setting it apart from the other entries.”

In 2008, she traveled to Sierra Leone where she shot, edited and produced her first MMJ/VJ series on Blood Diamonds. It aired on PBS and won 2 Telly Awards. She also won the first-ever “Multi-Media Emmy Award” for an interactive piece she produced about Kenya’s violent 2007 elections.

Prior to taking over the popular ConsumerWatch franchise, Julie was named Best News Anchor by the Associated Press for her role as Anchor/Host of the CBS-5 Weekend Early Edition. In addition to covering the day’s top stories, Julie discussed hot topics and interviewed newsmakers alongside San Francisco Chronicle Columnist Phil Matier.

Nationally, Julie appeared as a host on TLC’s “Designing Spaces”. She also covered everything from cooking segments to creepy critters while hosting the “KCRA Noon Show Live from the Arden Fair Mall”.

It was at KCRA3 in Sacramento where Julie earned her meteorology credentials from the American Meteorological Society. She also won her first Emmy Award for Best Weather Anchor while at KCRA. Later, as a Meteorologist at KPIX in San Francisco, Julie’s role took her from the chromakey to the crumbling cliffs of Pacifica. In 2010, she won the American Meteorological Society’s prestigious award for “Excellence in Science Reporting by a Broadcast Meteorologist.”

Julie began her career as an entertainment reporter for BBC & Reuters-TV in Los Angeles. Later, she was a Traffic Anchor, Weather Anchor and Reporter for CBS-47 in Fresno. Julie was also the voice of news and traffic each morning on the Central Valley’s Clear Channel radio stations.

Julie earned a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism and a M.A. in Online Journalism from the University of Southern California. At her commencement ceremony, she was named Graduate Student of the Year. Julie went on to study Broadcast Meteorology at Mississippi State University and earned her meteorology credentials from the American Meteorological Society.

Outside of work, Julie sits on the Board of Governors for the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. She also sits on the Board for Canine Companions for Independence, a national non-profit that provides skilled service animals, free of charge, to children and adults with disabilities.

Julie continues to volunteer her time at her Alma Mater, Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, where she taught a broadcasting course for aspiring journalists and hosts a series of career symposiums each year.

Born and raised in San Jose, Julie, her husband, and their dog Allie are thrilled to be back home in the Bay Area.

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To schedule an appearance for CBS 5 on-air reporters/anchors, please contact Akilah Bolden-Monifa, Director of Communications. Please provide the date, time, location of the event, number of attendees expected, and name of sponsoring organization.