Dana King Announces Departure From CBS 5
San Francisco (CBS 5) — Emmy Award-winning anchor Dana King has announced that she will be leaving CBS 5 as of Friday, Dec. 7 after 15 years with the station and 25 years in television news in order to pursue her art career.
"I am leaving the business to build my next life as an artist," said King, who a few years ago began working toward earning a Master's Degree in classical sculpture from San Francisco's Academy of Art University. "In order to do it right, I am making a commitment that requires a choice between continuing an already amazing career and starting a brand new one. KPIX has been my second home. I am honored to have worked beside everyone here and to have had the privilege of serving the people of the Bay Area by reporting the news during these last 15 years of enormous change. I will miss it all more than you know."
"It's been my privilege to work with Dana during 12 of her 15 years here. We will always be deeply appreciative of Dana's contributions to CBS 5 and proud of her excellent service to the people of the Bay Area. While Dana's departure will leave us with big shoes to fill, we are fortunate to have a strong bench of news professionals who will do an excellent job of holding down the fort while we take the time we need to make a thoughtful decision about her successor," said Dan Rosenheim, Vice President and News Director, CBS 5 Eyewitness News.
"I am honored to have shared co-anchoring duties with Dana but as I have seen her transition from journalist to artist, I am happy to see her pursue this next phase of her life," said Ken Bastida, Anchor, CBS 5 Eyewitness News.
During the recently completed November 2012 sweep, CBS 5 Eyewitness News at 11 p.m. once again earned the distinction of being the most-watched 11 p.m. newscast in the Bay Area.
King has travelled extensively for the station. Most recently, in April 2008 she covered several stories in Ghana, West Africa. Her series "Assignment Africa" told the story of inhumane treatment and conditions for women accused of witchcraft. The series received national acclaim, winning the RTNDA's Edward R. Murrow Award as well as two "Gracie" awards from the American Women in Radio and Television (AWRT). In October 2006, she covered northern Iraq, a region that at the time was a safe and economically sound region – vastly different than the war-torn southern Iraq. In August 2004, she traveled to Afghanistan to cover post-war/pre-presidential election stories. In April 2004, she went to Rwanda, reporting on the 10-year commemoration of the genocide. The multiple-part series on Rwanda received two RTNDA Awards, including the Edward R. Murrow Award in March 2005.
In November 2002, King spent two days aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Persian Gulf and filed live reports from Amman, Jordan. She was the first Bay Area broadcast journalist to report from Ground Zero on September 13, 2001. In January 2000, King traveled back to Honduras, two years after her initial trip covering the destruction caused by the flooding after Hurricane Mitch in November 1998. Her five-part series "Healing a Nation" provided Bay Area viewers with a look at the courageous personal survival of the Honduran people. She revisited people she interviewed from her first trip and provided an update on their progress.
King received a local Emmy Award for her reporting in Honduras. She is also the recipient of four other Emmy Awards for local news in Los Angeles, St. Louis, and San Francisco. In 2010, her special on the "Legacy of Loma Prieta" was honored as the top Special News Program by the Northern California RTNDA.
King began her broadcasting career in Los Angeles as a general assignment reporter at KABC-TV. From general assignment reporter, she moved to early morning news anchor. In 1989, the Los Angeles Sentinel named her "Woman of the Year."
In 1990, she moved to St. Louis to become the evening news anchor at KTVI-TV. After King left St. Louis, she worked as anchor on "Good Morning America Sunday," and as a substitute co-anchor and reporter for "Good Morning America." She joined CBS News in December 1993 as co-anchor and reporter for the prime time news magazine "America Tonight." She was co-anchor of the "CBS Morning News," and a frequent contributor to "CBS This Morning," as well as other CBS News programs. In 1995, King anchored a syndicated news and information program called "Day and Date." Her most recent network assignment was that of general assignment reporter for the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather.
King graduated with a bachelor's degree in marketing from Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan. She is the mother of two college-age children.
King's extensive community service has included work with MarinKids, The Center for Domestic Peace (previously known as Marin Abused Women's Services), Sunny Hills Services, Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, the World Affairs Council, the Women's Initiative, the American Red Cross, Museum of the African Diaspora, National Philanthropy Day and the Commonwealth Club.
Editor's note: Media contact is Akilah Bolden-Monifa, CBS San Francisco Market Director of Communications (415)765-8842 amonifa@cbs.com.
(Copyright 2012 CBS San Francisco Bay Area. All rights reserved.)
