Renee Chou

Contact

On The Web

• Follow Renee Chou on Twitter

Site Search

Recent Stories

• Some students spend Saturday in school
• Storm closes schools, slicks roads
• Defense: Move accused nursing home shooter
• Apex eliminates abortion clause from employee insurance
• Cary approves bus-shelter art

Reporter/anchor

Professional Experience:
2004 to present: anchor/reporter, WRAL-TV; 1998 to 2004: anchor/reporter, KCRG-TV, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; 1997-1998: general assignment reporter, KOMU-TV, Columbia, Mo.

Awards & Recognition:
2002 Iowa Associated Press Broadcasters Association: first place for general reporting; 2002 Cedar Rapids Women of Achievement honoree; 1998 Missouri Broadcasters Association: first place for TV documentary; 1998 William Randolph Hearst Journalism Award finalist

News Philosophy:
To tell fair, accurate and compelling stories that matter.

Education:
Bachelor of  Journalism, 1998, University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo.

Hometown:
Farmington Hills, Mich.

Hobbies, Interests & Community Involvement:
I'm a jack of all trades. I play tennis, play the piano, sing and dance -- but I don't perform any of those talents well enough to give up my day job! I'm a current board member, past president, and founding member of the North Carolina chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association. I also enjoy working with elementary school kids as a Junior League of Raleigh volunteer. In my spare time, I'm most likely relaxing with friends, immersed in a good book or trying out new recipes.

Family:
Husband Mike; parents, brother, sister-in-law and niece in Michigan.

Favorite Books:
I'm obsessed with memoirs-- few things are more compelling than a person's story told through its most authentic voice. My favorites: "Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt; "The Liars Club" by Mary Karr; "Growing Up" by Russell Baker; "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls; "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom; and "The Opposite of Fate" by Amy Tan. Other top picks: "Longitudes and Attitudes" by Thomas Friedman; "Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden; "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini; and "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck.

Favorite Movies:
I enjoy everything from dramas to romantic comedies. A sampling: "The Sixth Sense," "A Beautiful Mind," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Office Space," "Waiting for Guffman," "Moulin Rouge," "Love Actually," "American Beauty," "Traffic," "Ocean's Eleven," "When Harry Met Sally," "Gone With the Wind"

Favorite Web Sites:
WRAL.com; the network news Web sites; NPR.org; FoodNetwork.com; Epicurious.com; MeFi (metafilter.com); TheOnion.com (for much-needed comic relief)

Likes Best About North Carolina:
Friendly people and the mild winter (when you compare it to the bitter cold and snow of the Midwest!)

Most Memorable Assignments:
Covering the McCain campaign in Phoenix on Election Day 2008; working 14 hours straight and reporting live for WRAL, The CBS Early Show and CNN on the EQ explosion in Apex; following the Tar Heel women to the 2007 Final Four in Cleveland; tropical storms and tornadoes – the events are heartbreaking but the resilience afterward always restores my faith in the human spirit.