Kai Reed is a news anchor and reporter for WBAL TV 11. (Photo credit: wbaltv.com)
You’ve probably seen Kai Reed before, whether it’s outside of City Hall detailing the outrage experienced by Freddy Gray protestors or sitting at the WBAL TV 11 anchor desk. She is a news anchor and a field reporter for WBAL Baltimore.
Before beginning her career as a journalist, Reed wasn’t always so certain.
“Growing up, I wouldn’t say I always did , I was definitely more into English, Social Studies, History and anything that involved writing,” she said.
“Probably right around my Sophomore/Junior year in high school , I started to look into Broadcast Journalism and it became more and more of something I would be interested in,” said Reed who earned her degree in Broadcast Journalism and Political Science from The University of Missouri-Columbia in 2001.
The Naperville, Illinois native has been in Baltimore since 2010 as a field reporter at WBAL but in 2014 became the evening/weekend News Anchor. Before coming to Baltimore, she worked in Wisconsin, Rockford, Illinois and Columbia, Missouri as a field reporter.
“Not much changed for me because I am still doing both,” she said. “I do some reporting, developing the daily news story three days a week and then two days a week, I get to be on the anchor desk and give things from a different perspective.”
Similar to the ever-changing news, the average anchors day is just as hectic. Some days can be stagnant, while with others, every single possibility is up in the air.
“You know how news is, you just never know. Some days can be extremely busy and some can be not as busy,” she said. “It is a little bit busier on the weekends just because we have a smaller staff.”
“We talk about what we have for the day, what’s the news, what does the run down look like for the day and we start to get a feel for how the show is shaped.”
“We gather all of what is going on in the city and then outside the city,” she said. WBAL News not only covers Baltimore, but the surrounding counties as well.
Earlier in the year, Reed and the WBAL crew covered the Freddie Gray protests from the beginning at City Hall to the riots that plagued the city in April. Sometimes, she was actively involved in reporting the aftermath in the streets as well as behind the anchor desk.
“The protesting was becoming increasingly larger as the days went on, so it was a lot happening at once,” she said. “I was out in the field and there was a situation that since Mr. Gray has passed, you could kind of sense that a movement was growing.”
“It was a great experience as a reporter to be able to meet and talk to people and get their take on what’s going on. It was definitely an intense experience,” she said.
Reed also spends her time as a member of the National Black Association of Journalists and several other organizations. “ is an organization made up of African American journalists from across the country and is a great way to stay connected to a lot of other people in the same field,” she said. “Diversity from top to bottom is always great.”
“Coming out to Baltimore was my first time living outside of the Midwest,”she said. “It was a good experience to see everything that there is to offer out here. I really am loving this part of the country.”
You can see Kai Reed evenings and weekends on WBAL TV 11 at 6 p.m., 10 p.m. and 11 p.m.