Kaity Tong co-anchors the Emmy Award- winning “CW11 News at 10”, where each weeknight, she teams up with co-anchor Jim Watkins, weatherman Irv “Mr. G.” Gikofsky and sportscaster Sal Marchiano.
Born in China, Kaity came to the United States with her family at age five. Growing up in Washington DC, Kaity was inspired to become a journalist by her uncle Hollington K. Tong, who was an Ambassador to the U.S. from Nationalist China as well as an acclaimed author.
After graduating with honors on an academic scholarship from Bryn Mawr with a BA in English Literature, Kaity was accepted to Stanford University’s Doctoral program in Chinese and Japanese studies. It was while she was at Stanford that Kaity began her broadcasting career, getting what she thought would be a summer job as morning editor and producer for KCBS All-News Radio in San Francisco. The summer job turned into a year-long stint at the top all news radio station in San Francisco. Kaity managed to complete her Masters in Asian Studies, but was sidetracked by the news business, and never completed her doctoral dissertation.
She began her television career as a reporter for KPIX-TV in San Francisco. Originally hired as a writer for the station, Kaity was asked to do an air- test and was promoted on the spot to a street reporter, where her first on-air story was a report on the “new” carts that carried people around the airport.
Shortly thereafter, Kaity was hired as the co-anchor of the number-one rated 5pm and 10pm newscasts on KCRA-TV, the NBC affiliate in Sacramento, CA. While at KCRA, her community service and involvement in local affairs was acknowledged by the United Way, the California State Legislature and the Sacramento City Council. Two years later, Kaity was recruited by WABC-TV and moved to New York, where she began as a general correspondent and co-anchor of the “Weekend News Edition”, before moving to co-anchor of the 5pm and 11pm newscasts. While at WABC, Kaity worked alongside news veterans Roger Grimsby, Bill Beutel and Tom Snyder.
After ten years at WABC’s “Eyewitness News”, Kaity, who grew to become one of the most respected and popular local news anchors in the New York market, joined CW11 in 1992, where she has co-anchored the Emmy Award-winning “WB11 News at Ten” for nearly fifteen years.
Kaity joins Gloria Steinhem and Beverly Sills in receiving the “Exceptional Achievement Award” from The Women’s Project and was the first woman honored by Rotary International with its “Paul Harris Fellowship.” She was also honored with a “Star” award by the New York Women’s Agenda .
Kaity was recognized by the Chinese America Arts Council for her excellence in communication. She has received a “Distinguished Woman” award from the Chinese American Planning Council and a Champion of Excellence Award from the Organization of Chinese Americans. A naturalized citizen, Kaity is especially proud to have received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for her work. .
She is actively involved with the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, the League for the Hard of Hearing and the Friends For Life.
PARTIAL LIST OF AWARDS:
National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS)
Emmy Awards
2005: Outstanding Single Newscast over 35 Minutes: “WB11 News at 10: 9/11 Day of Tribute”
2004: Outstanding Event Coverage: “9/11 America Remembers”
2003: Best Single News Cast over 35 Minutes: CW11 News at 10: “Crash of American 587”
2002: Outstanding Single Newscast: CW11 News at 10 “TWA 800 - 5 Years Later”
New York State Broadcasters Association Awards
1999: Outstanding Newscast
ASSOCIATED PRESS AWARDS: FIRST PLACE, Large Market
1996: Best Newscast
ELLIS ISLAND MEDAL OF HONOR
1992: Medal of Honor Award
New York Women’s Agenda
1993: Star Award
Friar’s Club
2002: News Legend Award
North Shore Child and Family Guidance Center
2002: Achievement Award
North Shore University Hospital Women’s Council
1997: Achievement Award
