Living the Dream Valley native Lindsey Reiser follows her calling to NYC By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
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SNBC anchor Lindsey Reiser says all journalists possess an inherent “curiosity.” Some call it being nosey—she contends it’s an insatiable thirst for knowledge. “It’s nice to be able to turn that into a career,” says the Scottsdale native. “I have a distinct memory of the Twin Towers coming down and running to my parents and letting them know this is happening.To this day, I still have a desire to be on that front line, writing that front line of history.” Since joining MSNBC on January 7, Reiser has anchored extensive coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic—reporting from field hospitals, sharing the story of a COVID-19 survivor following a 128-day hospital fight, and the early stages of reopening across America. An Emmy-nominated reporter, Reiser has evolved from a weekend anchor on “Arizona’s Family” and reporting on border and immigration issues as well as public corruption and violence in Texas. “I’m kind of covering the same stories in Arizona—people stories,” she says. “I see how the pandemic is affecting them.”
Always a Sun Devil
A New York City resident, Reiser still looks back fondly on her time in the Valley. “I’m a product of the Scottsdale Unified School District and ASU,” Reiser says proudly. “I grew up in 85260. My parents, though, have sold our childhood home and live in Cave Creek.They always love to tell me it’s 5 degrees cooler there.” Reiser graduated from Desert Mountain High School. (“Go Wolves!” she interjects.) She graduated from the international 16
baccalaureate program at Desert Mountain and then majored in journalism and Spanish at ASU. While living at home, watching the evening news was a family tradition. Lindsey Reiser has “My parents always had covered the COVID-19 pandemic as an anchor 12 on—Lin Sue Cooney and at MSNBC. (Photo Mark Curtis,” she recalls. courtesy MSNBC) “There was just something that was really appealing to me. Math and science never lived in New York City. I always felt this spark were my strong suit. I guess I decided my when I was here. sophomore year of high school to go into “I have to pinch myself.The dream isn’t journalism and it stuck.” without sacrifice. We have each other and During her time at ASU, she interned we’re not sick of each other, but it’s somewhat at ABC 15 for three semesters, thanks to a isolating.” scholarship through the Scripps company. Even at “Arizona’s Family,” she worked “It was a special internship,” she says. “An the weekends and loves it. She calls herself internship is really what you make of it. I was a “weekend warrior,” with her days off as kind of shy, but you have to get in there and say, Wednesdays and Thursdays. ‘I want to help.’ It was a really good experience.” “But right now, in this craziness, a pandemic Her first market was El Paso,Texas, world, anything goes,” she says. “I can get a and worked there for a year and a half as call on Wednesday or Th ursday.Thursdays are a multimedia journalist—she shot, wrote when we pitch our stories. Fridays are when we and edited her stories—covering border have our rundown meetings. and immigration issues. While there, she “Weekends are the days I go into 30 Rock investigated public corruption, uncovered poor (30 Rockefeller Plaza), early in the morning.” business practices and routinely reported on When she’s able to return to the Valley, she the violence across the border. enjoys hiking Piestewa Peak, having ice cream She returned to the Valley in 2011 and at Churn Ice Cream in Downtown Phoenix, became the weekend anchor of KPHO/ Mexican food at Ajo Al’s and walking through KTVK, also known as “Arizona’s Family.” the Biltmore. Reiser took the job at MSNBC to live her “I’m really lucky,” she says. “We do a weekly dreams. She didn’t want to look back and house party with an app and play games. wonder what else was out there. Th at’s made a world of difference in feeling “I wanted to scratch whatever itch I had,” connected. I’m dorky and I like trivia. 2020 is says Reiser, who moved to NYC with her UA Wildcat wife, Kathy Clark. “I had an aunt who an interesting year, to say the least.”
OCTOBER 2020 | NOVEMBER 2020 NORTHVALLEYMAGAZINE.COM