Angela Chen

About

When Angela was little, she wore red, heavy glasses and always had her nose buried in a book. Her love of the written word eventually led her to journalism (and probably her myopia), and it’s what has shaped her life. Angela is the Emmy Award-winning morning anchor at KESQ, the ABC/CBS station in Palm Springs. Prior to that, she was a reporter at KRIV-TV Fox 26 News in Houston, where she covered multiple hurricanes, two Super Bowls, and several national stories for network. She also hosted a weekly food segment called "So We Eat On" as well as the station's public affairs segment "The Asian Connection." Angela graduated from UC San Diego with degrees in World Literatures, Writing, and Psychology. Her first job was at KUSI’s morning show in San Diego, where she worked as a news writer and associate producer. After that, she earned a Master of Science from Columbia University’s Journalism School in New York City and went on to become a reporter for NY1 News. While she was there, some of her top stories included the destruction by Hurricane Sandy and Anthony Weiner's indiscretions. She left the Big Apple and headed home to Southern California to help care for her father after he was diagnosed with an aggressive brain cancer. While at home, she reported at news stations in Bakersfield and San Diego before moving to KOLO in Reno. Angela has also reported for several print and digital outlets, including The New York Times, The Huffington Post, and Bustle. Angela is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who has won the Lone Star Award as well as the Philip S. Weintraub Media Award. She is also a RIAS German Fellowship recipient and N.S. Bienstock Fellowship winner. In 2020, she was awarded a Society of Environmental Journalists grant fund. She was also selected as the largest grant recipient for the 2020 USC Center for Health Journalism Impact Fund. Both grants were dedicated toward a multi-part investigative series on the Salton Sea, which later garnered her another Emmy, an Edward R. Murrow, a Golden Mike Award and the Society of Environmental Journalists Award for Outstanding Explanatory Reporting in 2022. In 2021, she was named a Maynard 200 Fellowship recipient. The Southern California native has lived in London and Taipei. She is fluent in Mandarin, a certified scuba diver, a proud member of AAJA, and an alumna of Pi Beta Phi. She also loves The Simpsons and is on a perpetual hunt for the perfect burrito. Her days are spent wiping up never-ending spit up from her new baby. If you have a story idea, email her at angela.chen@kesq.com.