- Christi O'Connor
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For those of a similar name, see Christy O'Connor.
Christi O'Connor Born August 27, 1960
Oklahoma City, OklahomaOccupation YouthVoice.tv, News Anchor, Investigative reporter and Talk Show host. Known for 3 time Local Emmy Award winning television investigative reporter; Associated Press Reporter Of The Year; Host of “Candid with Christi” talk show in San Francisco on KRON and CBS affiliate. World Report Correspondent for HDnet; Creator and anchor of PBS pilot “The Empower Hour”; Co-creator of YouthVoice.tv Website Reporting Highlights Christi O'Connor (born August 27, 1960) is an award winning American television investigative reporter and news anchor. She is currently developing the teen self esteem broadcast network, "YouthVoice." (www.youthvoice.tv) 'YouthVoice shows are hosted by teenagers professionally trained to educate and candidly advise peers on sensitive topics including suicide, drug addiction, parental conflict and other pressures. YouthVoice also produces other teen hosted shows including the cooking show, "Top Teen Chef." O'Connor is currently shooting the pilot for another (confidential) show she will host. PBS has signed a committment letter for both shows. O'Connor is also a freelance network news correspondent. Most recently, EXTRA Television sent her to Hollywood to conduct an exclusive interview with troubled Hollywood actor, Charlie Sheen.
O'Connor was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She attended Casady Private School in Oklahoma City and spent her first two years of college at Oklahoma University where her writing skills qualified her to skip freshman English. She was awarded Pepperdine's exclusive Presidential Academic Scholarship and was Miss April in the university's Student Leaders Calendar. She is listed in Who's Who Among Colleges and Universities.In 1984, O'Connor became weekend anchor and reporter at WGHP in High Point/Greensboro/Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Her investigative reporting of a church pastor's poisoning led to the exhumation of the graves of three men connected to a woman named Blanche Moore. The story became a movie [1] and a book.[2] In 1990, O'Connor anchored the noon and 6:00 news for NBC's affiliate in Salt Lake City.
In 1992, she moved to Jacksonville, Florida where she simultaneously served as main anchor for both Fox and ABC. There, she took on the additional role of managing editor. In 1994, she anchored and led the investigative unit for KTVT-TV CBS in Dallas. There, she led the national media in her breaking news coverage of the worst domestic terrorist attack in United States history; the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal Building which killed 168 people including eight federal agents and 19 children.[3] At the trial of mass murderer, Timothy McVeigh, O'Connor continued to break news and lead media coverage for CBS News. Among the exclusive interviews she won were with the McVeigh family which led network producers to dub her "The Get Girl". O'Connor went on to win the Journalistic Enterprise Emmy award for her Oklahoma City Bombing reporting.[4]. She also broke exclusive stories in the national scandal that led to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. Her investigations included exclusive interviews and exposes with President Clinton accusers Gennifer Flowers, Dolly Kyle-Browning and Paula Jones.
In 1998, O'Connor became Chief of the Investigative Unit and substitute anchor at KPIX-TV CBS in San Francisco. Her undercover investigations into Alaska Airlines' inadequate airplane maintenance and fraudulent record keeping led the Federal Aviation Administration to fine the airline and ground its entire fleet of MD-80s.[5] In an exclusive interview with O'Connor, an Alaska Airlines mechanic, John Liotine, warned that maintenance problems could lead to a plane crash.[6] On January 31, 2000 Alaska Airlines Flight 261 crashed off the California coast, killing all 88 people on board. The National Transportation Safety Board determined the cause of the crash was inadequate maintenance.
O'Connor went on to win two more Emmy Awards in San Francisco. Her 3 month undercover investigation into deaths by neglect in nursing homes and a money trail that resulted in Attorney General Bill Lockyer and Governor Grey Davis investing more than 300 million dollars into nursing home reform.
In 2000, the world media convened on San Francisco to cover the high profile story of the dog mauling of lacrosse coach, Diane Whipple. O'Connor broke 13 exclusives while newspaper, radio and competitive television stations followed. O'Connor's stories on the case were used as evidence in the criminal trials of the dog owners who were convicted.[7]
In 2002, O'Connor created and anchored the talk show Candid...with Christi, with legal analyst and San Francisco First Lady, Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom. The show aired on CBS-5 and on KRON Television in San Francisco. In San Francisco, O'Connor hosted many public events. For San Francisco's League of Women Voters, she political debates including the 2003 District Attorney candidates debate involving Kamala Harris who went on to become California's Attorney General.
In 2004, O'Connor became a correspondent for HDnet's World Report. Among O'Connor's exclusive interviews was with San Francisco Mayor, Gavin Newsom.[8] Newsom also admitted he'd had an affair with the wife of his own staff advisor. Newsom revealed he had decided to stop drinking and would continue to lead the cause supporting the rights of gays to marry.
In 2006, O'Connor began developing her youth broadcast network and hour long show for PBS while she continued to freelance for news networks. She began shooting her pilot show in late 2009. It is near completion.
References
- ^ Black Widow Murders: The Blanche Taylor Moore Story at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Jim Shutz. Preacher's Girl: The Life and Crimes of Blanche Taylor Moore. ISBN 978-0688119348.
- ^ Stephen Jones and Peter Israel. Others Unknown: Timothy McVeigh and The Oklahoma City Bombing Conspiracy. ISBN 978-1586480981.
- ^ "1998 Heartland Winners". National Television Academy: Heartland Chapter. http://www.emmyawards.tv/archives/1998_winners.php.
- ^ Andrew Gumbel (August 5, 2000). "Alaska Airlines grounds MD-80s for repairs". London: The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/alaska-airlines-grounds-md80s-forrepairs-711271.html. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
- ^ "Looking into United". http://www.iasa.com.au/folders/Safety_Issues/FAA_Inaction/channelfive.html.
- ^ Aphrodite Jones. Red Zone: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the San Francisco Dog Mauling. ISBN 978-0060537821.
- ^ "Transcript: Gavin Newsom, Iraq War Cost, Shuttle Landing, Indonesia". http://www.hd.net/transcript.html?air_master_id=A4671.
External links
Categories:- 1960 births
- American journalists
- Living people
- People from San Francisco, California
- People from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Pepperdine University alumni
- Associated Press reporters
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