Bio: KARLA LEAL
KARLA P. LEAL
Karla Leal joined the KEYE-TV team in October 2009 to be part of the launch of Telemundo Austin, the first local Spanish newscasts of the Telemundo network in this city. Monday through Friday, Karla brings local news to Austin in Spanish on digital channel 42.2, Time Warner Cable 75, & Dish Network 43, with a unique and personable style. She complements her anchoring duties working on special reports for both KEYE TV and Telemundo Austin, helping with production duties, and she’s also Telemundo Austin’s weather forecaster.
Leal was born and raised in Tijuana, Mexico, but she came to the U.S. after finishing high school. Just two months after her arrival, Hispanic Austinitites named Leal their favorite local Spanish language News Anchor in a survey done by ¡Ahora Sí! a local Spanish language newspaper publication. Now she says she considers herself an Austinite who enjoys running marathons, doing community service, and exploring the live music scene. She mentors future journalist through the local chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Her passion for bilingual education has also made Leal a volunteer in the “Compañeros de Lectura” or “Classroom Coaches” program from the non-profit Austin Partners in Education; thru this Spanish language reading program she has the opportunity to tutor bilingual second graders during the academic school year.
Her first opportunity on TV was at Chicago’s public access channel CAN-TV 19 hosting the bilingual show “Latina Spirit,” in 2004. She got her Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism from Columbia College Chicago in 2005. Before moving to Austin, Leal worked for Telemundo 11 in Bakersfield, California, where she was the anchor and reporter for four years. There, she developed special report series like “El Sueño Mexicano” and “El Arte de la Charrería” that helped her get nominated for an Emmy in 2007 & 2008. She also received the regional Kern Press Club award several times for a variety of feature reports. Here in the lone star state, in 2009 the Texas Association of Broadcasters gave Leal an award for her special report series called “Emprendedores de la Recesión.”
