Jonathan Betz
Jonathan Betz
Before arriving in Dallas, he worked for nearly four years in New Orleans at WWL-TV where he was a part of the only local television station to continue broadcasting during Hurricane Katrina.
Betz has covered nearly every named storm to hit the Gulf Coast during the historic 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, including Hurricanes Ivan, Dennis, Katrina and Rita.
During Katrina, Betz was one of only a handful of local reporters covering the storm and its aftermath from inside New Orleans.
He was the only television reporter in the country to deliver live reports from the city's Lower Ninth Ward on the day the storm hit. His reports were among the first to show the depth of the floodwaters, the extent of the devastation and the scale of rescues.
Two weeks after Katrina, he reported live from Lake Charles as Hurricane Rita battered that city.
His work in New Orleans covering the worst natural disaster in American history helped earn the station a Peabody award.
His stories showing rescues in New Orleans and the chaos downtown earned him an Edward R. Murrow award as well as several Louisiana Associated Press and New Orleans Press club awards.
In February 2003, he traveled to East Texas to cover the crash of the Columbia Space Shuttle. The state Associated Press awarded him first place for continuing coverage for his five days of reports from the crash site.
Before New Orleans, Betz was the lead evening reporter and fill-in anchor for KHBS/KHOG-TV in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Betz grew up in North Texas and graduated from Richardson High School; he holds a bachelor of arts degree in broadcast journalism and international relations from Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Communications.
When did you decide you wanted to be a journalist?
I caught the bug at a summer camp in high school. We were all assigned jobs, but the only chore available was working on the camp newsletter. I covered swim competitions and the lunch menu, but I found it fascinating. At that camp in rural Texas, I began thinking journalism might be something for me.
What’s your favorite thing to do in Dallas-Fort Worth?
I hate this answer, but it’s honest: eating. Dining out seems to be the pastime of North Texas, and it’s something I fully embrace!
Tell us about a story that you are particularly proud to have brought to the public's attention.
I’m extremely proud of my work in New Orleans covering Hurricane Katrina. Living through, much less covering something of that scale changes you to your core and puts everything in a new perspective.
How do you define success?
Happiness.
Tell us one reason why you love what you do.
Everyday brings a new adventure… good and bad.
What quality do you have to have to make it in this business?
I’ll let you know when I figure it out!
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