At a time when diversity among broadcast and cable news anchors appears to be on the wane, or barely exists in places like, say, um, Utah, 27-year-old Nadia Crow's recent move represents a bit of good news.
She became the first regular African-American anchor at Utah's KTVX-Channel 4 and in the state, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. While making history, she's also fulfilling a dream. Crow, who grew up in Chicago, has also worked in Indiana and Iowa.
"I’ve always wanted to do this," said Crow, who’s living out her dreams at KTVX-Channel 4. "The only thing I’ve ever really wanted to be is a TV news anchor and reporter."
Other kids watched cartoons; Crow watched "20/20" and "Oprah."
"When we lived in Norfolk [Va.], there were black females in TV news who were good role models," she said. "And then when we moved to Chicago, you only had a few, even though Chicago is such a big city and it’s so diverse."
Given that Utah is 80 percent white, 13 percent Hispanic and 2 percent Asian, according to the latest census data, it's not really a surprise that it took until 2013 for the state to hire its first regular black anchor. Indeed, the station is in the midst of rebuilding after undergoing a series of ownership changes, staff turnover and layoffs.
"I knew it would be a challenge coming here with the struggles they’ve had, but chaos creates opportunity," she said. "So I looked at it more as a challenge. And knowing that I would be the first African-American anchor was also a challenge that I wanted to take on."
Read more at the Salt Lake Tribune.