"DANNIELYNN BIRKHEAD'S BIRTHDAY PARTY"
ENTERTAINMENT FEATURE
CNN Live Report
Julie's live report on the Tyler, TX courthouse shooting aired on CNN's American Morning with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien, while Julie was a news reporter at KLTV-TV ABC 7. She was inside the Smith County Courthouse at the time, reporting on an unrelated capital murder hearing, and survived the deadly shooting. Julie's exclusive, first-person coverage helped her station win two 2005 Emmy Awards.
I believe in journalism based on its original purpose – to be the so-called 4th branch of government. Our job as journalists is to keep the other three branches in check. I thrive on investigative reporting – uncovering corruption, waste, and other wrongdoing. My passion is for getting the truth to viewers and helping them live more well-informed lives. And I have the global and intellectual perspective to do that. I'm American-born but am the daughter of immigrants from Hong Kong. I've traveled throughout the world to small towns and big cities and I'm continuing to explore more places every year. I've studied and been immersed in various cultures and religions. I've never had a problem communicating with the public while out on story assignments – if people don't speak English, I've spoken to them in Spanish and various dialects of Chinese. (I've sung opera in Italian, French, German, and Latin, so I'm familiar those languages too.) I have family members and friends of every major ethnicity and religion. I find value in sharing balanced stories about communities and groups who don't get much attention in the media. I also have expertise in the arts and Economics (my college degree) – a rare journalist who loves math and knows how to translate numerical data into information that's easy to digest and therefore, meaningful. I also enjoy fun stories that give me a chance to entertain viewers. Accuracy, from facts to spelling, is very important to me. I'm not about hype or sensationalism or scare tactics. I'll ask the tough questions. There isn't a story I'm afraid to cover.
- Julie Tam
Highlights
During her TV news reporting career, Julie Tam has ducked for cover and survived two shootings -- one at a courthouse, the other at an apartment complex -- while covering unrelated stories. She also has witnessed the execution of a Texas death row inmate. Julie has interviewed countless politicians (including Sen. Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, governors, Congress members, and mayors), Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Mary Lou Retton, radio/TV/film/music celebrities (including actress Alyssa Milano, DJ Rick Dees, and singer Lee Greenwood), best-selling author Nora Roberts, professional sports figures (like John Elway and Warren Moon), some of the world's top poker players (including Phil Hellmuth and Men "The Master" Nguyen), Frank Abignale (the real-life character played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie Catch Me If You Can), Miss Americas, Miss USAs, and other celebrities.
