WJZ anchor Denise Koch to be awarded prestigious Board of Governors Award at 66th Capital Emmys ceremony

BALTIMORE -- WJZ anchor Denise Koch will receive the 2024 Board of Governors Award on Saturday at the 66th Capital Emmy Awards ceremony in Maryland. 

The award, presented by the National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, goes beyond television news award. It is presented for "truly outstanding achievement and unique accomplishment of some duration and durability."

"For 42 years, Denise has introduced us to the people who make Charm City sparkle, sharing their stories in such a compelling way often showing us how similar we all are," WJZ News Director Tanya Black said. "She has a unique ability to bring us together and make us care—about our neighbors, our city, and ourselves."

The longest-running female news anchor in the Baltimore market, Koch has served as a reporter and anchor with WJZ over the last four decades.  

The Californian was an actress before moving to Baltimore and thought she'd only stay at WJZ for a few months. Starting out as weekly tipster "Daring Denise" on Evening Magazine, Koch quickly moved to the newsroom and finally became a lead anchor. 

"It was never a plan," she said, reflecting on her 40th anniversary at TV Hill. "Life just kept making sense. And I just kept just really loving and enjoying where I lived, and what I was doing."

Now an Emmy Award-winning journalist, Denise has traveled all over the state, country and world to report for WJZ.

"Professionally, I can't say I've ever worked or witnessed a lead anchor work as hard as she does," WJZ reporter Paul Gessler said. "She actively seeks out stories and people to highlight in the midst of her full-time anchoring. She is the embodiment of a storyteller who knows stories happen out in the community, not in the studio. She is a newsroom leader like no other, shepherding generation after generation of journalists through an ever-changing industry."   

But a superlative career isn't the only thing that makes Denise stand out -- her work in the community is especially important to her.

Koch has been on the advisory boards of the Hospice Network of Maryland, Success in Style, and the Maryland Committee for the Children. She is currently on the board of Turn Around, Inc., a sexual assault and domestic violence center. 

She is a founding member of the Women's Leadership Institute of Baltimore—a panel of women, supported by Maryland's only women's college Notre Dame of Maryland University. She was part of the Howard County Arts Council for a decade and also served two terms on the board of Camp Opportunity, a camp for abused and neglected children. 

"Denise embodies all the qualities we look for when recognizing journalists in our region," National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter President Adam Longo said.  "She is committed to ensuring a better future for Baltimore City by actively serving the community through her time and influence on countless organizations and people in need through her decades in Baltimore."

Koch will be recognized during the 66th Emmy Awards ceremony on June 22 in Bethesda, Maryland.