Lauren Gilger is an award-winning multimedia journalist whose work has impacted communities large and small, exposing injustices and giving a voice to the voiceless and marginalized.
I grew up in newsrooms. My mother worked her way through newspapers across the country and, as a result, today, I am dedicated to building community through storytelling.
I am a Host and Producer at KJZZ News, the National Public Radio station in Phoenix, where I host a live, daily news magazine show covering everything from the biggest local and national news stories of the day to conducting in-depth interviews that add context to the biggest issues affecting our community. I even get to have a little bit of fun — talking about local music and art, to the latest in the Arizona food scene. My work on “The Show” recently earned national recognition from Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRNDI) for reporting on infant loss and miscarriage awareness.
Previously, I worked as an Investigative Producer and Reporter for ABC15 News in Phoenix after receiving my master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in 2011, where I was named Outstanding Graduate Student.
In 2013, I was the recipient of the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award and an Edward R. Murrow Award after my work forced one of the world’s largest automakers to recall more than 700,000 SUVs.
In my career, I have uncovered the systemic separation of immigrant families in the detention system; put pressure on the FDA to review a controversial form of birth control that has injured women worldwide; I have interviewed public officials and thought leaders, and had the privilege of giving a voice to those who might not have otherwise been heard.
In the Valley, I have also worked in print — as a contributor to the Phoenix New Times and a clerk at the East Valley Tribune. Nationally, my work has appeared in The Washington Post, America Magazine and appeared on ABC’s Nightline.
I earned my undergraduate degree from Fordham University, where I studied French, Visual Arts and American Catholic Studies.