CBS News Philadelphia's Jessica Kartalija wins Pennsylvania Broadcaster of the Year award
HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) — CBS News Philadelphia anchor Jessica Kartalija was honored Friday in Harrisburg with the Broadcaster of the Year award from the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters.
Kartalija joined the CBS Philadelphia team in 2018 and currently anchors the 5, 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts.
"I am so incredibly proud of the work that we do at CBS Philadelphia because we place such an emphasis on covering stories and issues with heart and a focus on home," Kartalija said during her acceptance speech. "So rather than oversharing everything negative that happens in our community, our newsroom works incredibly hard to tell stories that offer real solutions. We do cover issues like crime and addiction, but we also highlight the people who work to make our city and our suburbs a much better place to live."
Kartalija has strong ties to Pennsylvania. Her father grew up in a small coal mining town southwest of Pittsburgh in Fayette County and her mother was an elementary school teacher in North Philadelphia.
"They both taught me, at a very young age, the value of a good education and the importance of working very hard and paying your dues," Kartalija said. "I also learned from the two of them that everyone has a story and it's the people who often don't have a platform whose voices need to be amplified the most."
"I remember saying to my dad, how do people not know what's happening in the world?" she recalled. "From that point on, I knew I wanted to get into journalism."
Kartalija attended Penn State, where she majored in journalism and minored in Spanish. She went on to work in Yuma, Arizona and Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she reported, anchored, wrote, produced and shot video. Her career then took her to CBS Baltimore before coming to CBS Philadelphia.
Kartalija's colleagues say she is a journalist who cares about her craft, getting it right and is immersed in her community.
"It's very important for me to tell stories and amplify voices of the people who may not otherwise have a voice," Kartalija said.
She teaches journalism and public speaking courses at Villanova University and is on the advisory board of Horizons Greater Philadelphia, a camp for children with cancer.
"I think as journalists, we have an opportunity to teach the next generation," Kartalija said.
Kartalija has also worked with the Special Olympics, The House of Ruth Maryland and The Women's Initiative Network at Kennedy Krieger Institute. She was also on the Board of Trustees at the Irvine Nature Center.
Our very own Delaware County reporter Madeleine Wright was also honored with an award for Outstanding Television Feature Story.
Denise Nakano of KYW Newsradio also received a Broadcaster of the Year award.
Keith Blaisdell of abc27-WHTM in Harrisburg and Chris Shovlin of Robert Morris University were inducted into the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame during the event as well.
Watch some of Kartalija's recent stories for CBS News Philadelphia:
