Salt Lake City’s First Black Anchor? Hired This June

By Kevin Eck 

When Nadia Crow joined Brian Carlson on set for the 4:00 p.m. news at Salt Lake City ABC affiliate KTVX in June, The Salt Lake Tribune said she became the first African-American to have a regular anchoring job at a Salt Lake City station.

“I knew it would be a challenge coming here with the struggles they’ve had, but chaos creates opportunity,” Crow told Tribune media writer Scott Pierce. “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.”

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“I’m so amazed, for someone that young, how advanced her skills are,” said KTVX news director George Severson. “She stands out because she seems so engaged, especially coming to a whole new world.”

She said she was concerned initially she wouldn’t fit in. “I asked George, ‘Is there somewhere I can get my hair done? Am I going to be able to go to the grocery store and see somebody that looks like me? What is going to happen if I come there?’ ” Crow said. “But coming here has really opened up my eyes. There is diversity here. And there are growing populations that people outside of Utah don’t realize are here.”

Crow admitted to the Tribune her friends thought she would have to wear long sleeves on air and would be in danger of becoming someone’s third wife. “They have these ‘Big Love’ ideas, because that’s what they see on TV,” Crow said. “There are so many misconceptions outside of Utah of what the LDS faith is. And then when you come here, you realize that those things really aren’t true.”

Severson said the response to Crow’s hiring has been “great. Overwhelmingly positive.” “We want to represent everybody. And there are black people living in Utah,” he said.

Crow anchors the 4:00 p.m. news on KTVX and the 9:00 p.m. news on CW affiliate KUCW.

She started her career at WSYR in Syracuse, NY. She has also worked at WSJV in South Bend, IN, and worked at KCRG in Cedar Rapids, IA, before coming to KTVX.

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