Catherine Mylinh

Catherine Mylinh is an American journalist. Her latest [http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&q=%22catherine%20mylinh%22&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv assignments] were for the NBC affiliate in Fresno, where she covered the Central Valley from January 2005 to May 2008. She also served as KSEE weekend anchor, first for KSEE Sunrise Saturdays (2005-2006), then as evening reader for KSEE 24 News at 6/11 p.m. (2006-2007). Catherine was also part of the KSEE Weather Plus team.

Prior to joining KSEE 24 News, Catherine worked as a producer and reporter for CBS stations KBIM News 10 in Roswell, New Mexico and KRQE News 13 in Albuquerque. While Catherine was in New Mexico, she covered the Katie Sepich murder case. Her coverage helped pass [http://www.http://www.katieslaw.org "Katie's Law."]

Sepich, a 22-year-old New Mexico State University graduate student, was found raped, murdered and burned in August 2003. Authorities had no strong leads but Sepich had the killer's DNA under her fingernails. Police say Sepich fought hard for her life, scratching, hitting and fending off her attacker. The case received extensive media coverage. This subsequently prompted lawmakers to pass "Katie's Law," which now mandates DNA samples be taken from most felony arrests in the Southwest state.

In 2006, there was a break in the case, a [http://www.katieslaw.org/update.html DNA match] to Sepich's killer: Gabriel Avilla had been in and out of the prison system for years. Confronted with the scientific evidence, Avilla confessed to the crimes. The case is a major example in [http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/forensics.shtml DNA forensics] though it has raised [http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080415/NEWS/804150307/1001 questions] of civil liberties.

While working at KSEE 24 News, Catherine was the station's lead reporter on the lawsuit brought against California State University, Fresno by former women's basketball coach Stacy Johnson-Klein. In December 2007, [http://www.ksee24.com/news/local/12211946.html.com a jury awarded Johnson-Klein $19.1 million] in her wrongful termination and gender discrimination lawsuit. [http://www.ksee24.com/news/local/15593717.html (Damages were later reduced.)] This was the third gender discrimination suit against Fresno State in recent history, forcing the university to pay millions in damages. (See Lindy Vivas and [http://www.fresnobee.com/sports/bulldogs/story/538185.html Diane Milutinovich] for details.)

KSEE coverage spurred state lawmakers to action, conducting [http://dist16.casen.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_PR&SEC=%7B1C4F33AD-8352-4B47-B515-73E677024285%7D&DE=%7BF399EA31-3D5D-444C-B4E1-A2BB0A57C954%7D hearings] and demanding answers from California State University administrators.

According to the KSEE 24 News website, Catherine's [http://www.ksee24.com/results?keywords=catherine+mylinh&searchType=gen story library] and other assignments include:

Catherine worked on a series called "County in Crisis," where she reported on Fresno County's staggering budget shortfall. The reports took her to Sacramento where she questioned Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers on why the county doesn't get comparative funding even though it's one of the fastest growing counties in California. Catherine also covered the race for [http://www.fresnosheriff.org Fresno County Sheriff] during the midterm elections in November 2006. It was the most-watched local race and proved so close, voting officials took weeks to certify it.

Catherine has received Associated Press awards for her series on domestic violence and its longterm effects. She has also been recognized by the National Alzheimer's Association for her coverage of the illness. In 2006, Catherine was part of team coverage which earned an Emmy Award for Best Daytime Newscast.

She [http://www.ksee24.com/news/kseesunrise/19010019.html left KSEE 24 in May 2008] to work in the private sector in the San Francisco Bay Area, namely the Silicon Valley region, according to a May 21, 2008 article in The Fresno Bee. In July 2008, Catherine began working as a freelance weather anchor for KNTV NBC11 Bay Area.

Catherine graduated from San Jose State University with a degree in journalism and political science. She is of Vietnamese heritage and is a member of the Asian American Journalists Association.

Sources

http://www.ksee24.com/news/kseesunrise/19010019.html
http://www.ksee24.com/younews/10246311.html
http://www.ksee24.com/about/newsteam/weatherbios/8395007.html
http://www.ksee24.com/results?keywords=catherine+mylinh&searchType=gen
http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&q=%22catherine%20mylinh%22&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv
http://www.ksee24.com/news/kseesunrise/8894397.html
http://www.fresnobee.com/columnists/bentley/story/618646.html
http://www.katieslaw.org/
http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/basics/dna
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080415/NEWS/804150307/1001
http://www.ksee24.com/news/local/12211946.html
http://dist16.casen.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_PR&SEC=%7B1C4F33AD-8352-4B47-B515-73E677024285%7D&DE=%7BF399EA31-3D5D-444C-B4E1-A2BB0A57C954%7D
http://www.alz.org/index.asp
http://www.aaja.org/