Jenni Lee is an investigative reporter and Midday anchor at KVUE in Austin, Texas.
Jenni joined the KVUE news Team in June 2015. The veteran journalist has worked in the Austin TV market since 2001.
Before arriving in Austin, Jenni worked at KBTX-TV in Bryan and College Station after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin. For more than 20 years now, Jenni has been breaking and covering stories important to our community and to our world. Her work has been recognized by a number of organizations: the Radio Television Digital News Association; the Texas Association of Broadcasters; the Lone Star Emmy Chapter; the Texas Medical Association, the American Cancer Society; the Diversity Council and the Austin Mayor's Committee for People with Disabilities.
In April of 2024, the Texas Association of Broadcasters awarded her with best Television Specialty/Beat Reporting in a large market for her coverage of water issues in Central Texas.
In March of 2024, the Texas Medical Association gave her the Anson Jones, MD Award honorable mention, in the In-Depth TV category for her story about declining teen mental health.
In January of 2024, the American Water Works Association notified her that she was the 2024 Watermark Media Winner for a story highlighting the impact of the water operator shortage and what's being done to address the issue.
In 2023, the Texas Medical Association awarded her with the Anson Jones, MD award for an investigation looking into the skyrocketing overdose deaths among teenagers. It won first place in the In-Depth TV News category. See the story here.
In 2017, the Radio Television Digital News Association bestowed her with the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for a story called, "Border Body Farm." It won first place in the Hard News Large Market Television Division Region 6, which covers Texas and Oklahoma. See the story here.
But the award she remembers the most is her 7th place ribbon in gymnastics for her beam routine in the 8th-grade regional competition. After weeks of practice, a misstep knocked the 13-year-old off the beam and almost to the ground. Instead, she hung on for dear life, upside down, arms and legs wrapped around the contraption she was supposed to be performing on. In a gymnasium full of laughter that eventually turned to applause, she climbed her way back upright and finished the routine.
Jenni was born and raised in Richardson, a suburb of Dallas. She is married, has a son, adopted two crazy rescue dogs and is raising all of them. She no longer does gymnastics.
You can catch Jenni anchoring Midday News from 11 am to 12 pm Monday through Friday.
Contact Jenni at jlee@kvue.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
- Photos taken by KVUE's John Gusky at Mayfield Park in Austin