Jenni Lee

About

Jenni Lee is an investigative reporter and Midday anchor at KVUE in Austin, Texas. For more than 30 years, Jenni has been breaking and covering stories important to our community and to our world. Her work has been recognized by several organizations: the Radio Television Digital News Association; the Texas Association of Broadcasters; the Lone Star Emmy Chapter; the Texas Medical Association, the Texas Chapter of the American Water Works Association, the American Cancer Society; the Diversity Council and the Austin Mayor's Committee for People with Disabilities. In February 2025, the Texas chapter of the American Water Works Association recognized Jenni with the WaterMark award for her work about how a Central Texas school district became the first in the area to launch a pilot program that addresses the labor shortage in the water industry. In April 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 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 2024, the Texas Chapter of the American Water Works Association awarded her 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. 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 in gymnastics for a 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 beam 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.