Everything about Ashleigh Banfield totally explained
Ashleigh Dennistoun Banfield (born
December 29 1967 in
Winnipeg, Manitoba), is a
Canadian-born
journalist currently hosting
Hollywood Heat on
Tru TV (formerly
CourtTV). Banfield has reported from numerous locations overseas, including from the
Middle East and
Central Asia, in addition to reporting on domestic and
pop culture issues. She is the recipient of several
Emmy Awards for her body of journalistic work.
Professional career
Canada
She began her career in
1988 at
CJBN in
Kenora, Ontario, and at
CKY-TV in Winnipeg later that year. From
1989 to
1992, she anchored the weekend news for
CFRN-TV in
Edmonton, and from
1992 until
1995, at
CICT in
Calgary, where she won 2
Iris Awards.
During her tenure at
CICT, Banfield worked as a freelance associate producer for
ABC’s World News Tonight, covering the 1991 Bush/Gorbachev Summit in Russia and the 1992 Clinton/Yeltsin Summit in Vancouver.
United States
Her first American assignment was at
KDFW-TV in
Dallas, where she won an
Emmy Award and a Texas
Associated Press Award. It was during her time with KDFW that she also made a memorable radio appearance on The Travel World Radio Show on Montreal's CIQC-AM 600, hosted by veteran travel broadcasters Stephen Pickford and Willem Bagchus, during which she indulged in her passion for impersonating Janis Joplin.
Banfield’s trademark is her square-rimmed Lafont
eyeglasses, which she started wearing on the air after she departed
Dallas for
NBC in
New York City. From 1997 to 1999, Banfield read news stories on
WebTV for approximately two hours every night until she'd trouble reading small print. She blames the Internet for causing her
astigmatism.
In
2000 she was hired by
MSNBC and
NBC News and became a host of
HomePage along with
Gina Gaston and
Mika Brzezinski. She also hosted
MSNBC Investigates.
On
September 11,
2001, Banfield was reporting from the streets of
Manhattan, where she nearly suffocated from the debris cloud from the
collapsing World Trade Center. After the initial reporting of the tragedy had ended, Banfield received a promotion, as MSNBC sent her around the world as the producer of a new program,
A Region in Conflict. They also launched a heavy ad campaign that centered around Banfield, labeling her, "The One."
A Region in Conflict was broadcast mainly from
Pakistan and
Afghanistan, generally considered locations unfriendly to Westerners. She would read viewer
e-mails on-air, sometimes without reviewing them beforehand, ostensibly to avoid the appearance of bias.
During the conflict in Afghanistan, Banfield interviewed
Taliban prisoners, and visited a hospital in
Kabul. Later entries covered her travels from
Jalalabad to
Kabul, as well as other experiences in Afghanistan. In
Pakistan, she interviewed Father Gregory Rice, a
Catholic priest in Pakistan, and an Iraqi woman aiding refugees.
After
A Region in Conflict, she received the 10pm timeslot with the show
Ashleigh Banfield on Location.
In
April 2003, in a speech at
Kansas State University, Banfield raised concerns regarding media coverage of the conflict in
Iraq. She also blasted "cable news operators who wrap themselves in the American flag and go after a certain target demographic", specifically naming
Fox News Channel as an example. According to a
New York Times article, her speech angered NBC management who rebuked her and lowered her profile. She was fired in 2004.
Banfield joined
CourtTV (renamed
TruTV) in 2005. She is the co-host of the trial coverage show "Banfield & Ford: Courtside" weekdays from 1 to 3PM ET with Jack Ford. She is the only non-
lawyer among Court TV's anchors. She signed on to host celebrity gossip show "Hollywood Heat" in January 2007.
Education
Personal life
Banfield is married to Howard Gould and they've
two boys
, Jay Fischer Gould(born 2005) and Ridley Banfield Gould (born 2007). They reside in
New Canaan, Connecticut.
Banfield was also a backup singer for the band
The Rusty River Rafters and member of a bar band. In addition, she's a
cigar aficionado and enjoys
Cuban cigars.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Ashleigh Banfield'.
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