Susan Roesgen
Encyclopedia
Susan Roesgen is an American
television reporter. She has worked in radio and television broadcasting for more than two decades, including prime time news anchor positions at several TV stations. She has worked as a general assignment correspondent for CNN
from 2005 to 2009, and now works for New Orleans TV station WGNO
, the local ABC
television affiliate.
, and sister to Andy Roesgen, a freelance television reporter. Roesgen graduated magna cum laude from Montana State University
in 1983, majoring in English Literature
. Roesgen says she "never planned to be in journalism. I thought I'd be some kind of writer, but not in the media." She started as a copyeditor for the MSU Exponent newspaper, and her first television job was writing commercials. She eventually joined the news department, and worked her way up to anchoring the news at WABC-TV in New York City.
Roesgen's reporting has taken her to an Army barracks in Haiti, the Sea of Galilee, and to the pyramids of Egypt. She and two colleagues at WDSU-TV received regional Emmy award
s for the documentary A Grave Injustice, on the theft of artifacts from New Orleans historic cemeteries. She also won a Louisiana Associated Press Award for her reporting in Israel.
Roesgen has worked as an anchor or host for the following stations:
She has also worked as for WWNO-FM, a member station of National Public Radio. Roesgen was a classical music disc jockey, worked on the local show Getting There, and filed news stories for NPR's national broadcasts. She was honored by the Press Club of New Orleans with first place awards in the category of general news in 2004, 2005, and 2006 and in series category in 2005.
in 2000, and co-hosted an international travel show, National Geographic Today.
. Other significant stories she covered for CNN include the Jena Six
events in Louisiana, the Drew Peterson
case, and the death of Michael Jackson
. Roesgen's coverage of the 2009 Red River flood
in Fargo, North Dakota
, in which she "talks to the camera while passing sandbags and riding a forklift" according to one observer, was mocked by Jon Stewart
on Comedy Central
's Daily Show.
She moved to CNN
's Chicago bureau in September, 2007. On April 15, 2009, Roesgen interviewed a number of people at a 2009 Tea Party protest
in Chicago. The interview attracted a degree of partisan commentary.
In July, 2009, CNN indicated it would not be renewing Roesgen's contract.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television reporter. She has worked in radio and television broadcasting for more than two decades, including prime time news anchor positions at several TV stations. She has worked as a general assignment correspondent for CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
from 2005 to 2009, and now works for New Orleans TV station WGNO
WGNO
WGNO, channel 26, is the ABC-affiliated television station for the greater New Orleans, Louisiana metropolitan area, as well parts of southern and coastal Mississippi. It is owned by Tribune Broadcasting, and is the only Big Three network affiliate owned by the company.The station offers ABC...
, the local ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television affiliate.
Early life and career
Susan Roesgen is the daughter of William Roesgen, former publisher of several newspapers and editor of the Billings GazetteBillings Gazette
The Billings Gazette is the largest newspaper in Montana and Northern Wyoming. It is geographically one of the largest distributed newspapers in the nation....
, and sister to Andy Roesgen, a freelance television reporter. Roesgen graduated magna cum laude from Montana State University
Montana State University - Bozeman
Montana State University – Bozeman is a public university located in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's land-grant university and primary campus in the Montana State University System, which is part of the Montana University System...
in 1983, majoring in English Literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
. Roesgen says she "never planned to be in journalism. I thought I'd be some kind of writer, but not in the media." She started as a copyeditor for the MSU Exponent newspaper, and her first television job was writing commercials. She eventually joined the news department, and worked her way up to anchoring the news at WABC-TV in New York City.
Roesgen's reporting has taken her to an Army barracks in Haiti, the Sea of Galilee, and to the pyramids of Egypt. She and two colleagues at WDSU-TV received regional Emmy award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s for the documentary A Grave Injustice, on the theft of artifacts from New Orleans historic cemeteries. She also won a Louisiana Associated Press Award for her reporting in Israel.
Roesgen has worked as an anchor or host for the following stations:
- WABC-TVWABC-TVWABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...
Channel 7 (New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
) - KFMB-TVKFMB-TVKFMB-TV is the local CBS television affiliate in San Diego, California. Its studios are located on Engineer Road in the Kearny Mesa area of San Diego along with its sister radio stations, AM 760 and FM 100.7...
Channel 8 (San Diego) - WITN-TVWITN-TVWITN-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Eastern North Carolina's Inner Banks licensed to Washington. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 32 from a transmitter in Grifton along NC 118. The station can also be seen on Charter and Time Warner Cable channel 7 as...
Channel 7 (Washington, NCWashington, North CarolinaWashington is a city in Beaufort County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 9,744 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beaufort County. The closest major city is Greenville, approximately 20 miles to the west....
) - KATV-TV Channel 7 (Little RockLittle Rock, ArkansasLittle Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
) - WDSU-TV Channel 6 (New Orleans)
- WGNO-TV Channel 26 (New Orleans)
She has also worked as for WWNO-FM, a member station of National Public Radio. Roesgen was a classical music disc jockey, worked on the local show Getting There, and filed news stories for NPR's national broadcasts. She was honored by the Press Club of New Orleans with first place awards in the category of general news in 2004, 2005, and 2006 and in series category in 2005.
National Geographic
She joined the National Geographic ChannelNational Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
in 2000, and co-hosted an international travel show, National Geographic Today.
CNN
Roesgen was hired by CNN as the first news correspondent for their Gulf Coast division in 2005. She was based in New Orleans and covered Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. Other significant stories she covered for CNN include the Jena Six
Jena Six
The Jena Six were six black teenagers convicted in the beating of Justin Barker, a white student at Jena High School in Jena, Louisiana, on December 4, 2006. Barker was injured in the assault by the members of the Jena Six, and received treatment for his injuries at an emergency room...
events in Louisiana, the Drew Peterson
Drew Peterson
Drew Walter Peterson is a former Bolingbrook, Illinois, police sergeant who is suspected of killing his third and fourth wives. The story has received national media attention in the United States. Peterson has repeatedly denied involvement in both cases...
case, and the death of Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
. Roesgen's coverage of the 2009 Red River flood
2009 Red River flood
The 2009 Red River flood along the Red River of the North in North Dakota and Minnesota in the United States and Manitoba in Canada brought record flood levels to the Fargo-Moorhead area. The flood was a result of saturated and frozen ground, Spring snowmelt exacerbated by additional rain and snow...
in Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...
, in which she "talks to the camera while passing sandbags and riding a forklift" according to one observer, was mocked by Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...
on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
's Daily Show.
She moved to CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
's Chicago bureau in September, 2007. On April 15, 2009, Roesgen interviewed a number of people at a 2009 Tea Party protest
Tea Party movement
The Tea Party movement is an American populist political movement that is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian, and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009...
in Chicago. The interview attracted a degree of partisan commentary.
In July, 2009, CNN indicated it would not be renewing Roesgen's contract.