It is no wonder Chris Blatchford was once described in Daily Variety as the 'highly lauded' investigative reporter from KTTV Fox 11.
He is the only Los Angeles television reporter in history to win a coveted Peabody Award for investigative journalism. Many consider the Peabody the Pulltizer Prize of broadcast journalism. Blatchford's Peabody was won for his investigation into Mafia infiltration of MCA/Universal's music and home video divisions. He has also uncovered multi-million dollar contract abuses in the aerospace industry, and exposed food stamp and welfare fraud.
But he is most widely known for his work exposing the destruction and sorrow left behind by street gangs, prison gangs, and organized crime. His exposes on 18th Street, the Mexican Mafia, Aryan Brotherhood, Nazi Lowriders, Mexican and Colombian drug cartels, Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs, Russian and Asian organized crime -- just to mention some -- are being used nationwide as educational and training tools by schools, correctional institutions, law enforcement, and community groups.
During his 26-years in Los Angeles, Blatchford has received 9 Emmy awards, 49 Emmy nominations, 14 RTNDA Golden Mikes, 2 Edward R. Murrow Awards, 9 Regional Associated Press awards, 10 Los Angeles Press Club awards, and numerous other honors.
Although, he is best known for his work in the investigative area, he is arguably the only L.A. TV reporter to receive Emmys and Golden Mikes in all major categories of reporting, including: best investigative, best writing, best feature reporting, best documentary, best hard news reporting, and best news series.
His work has received special commendations for excellence in reporting from the L.A. City Attorney's Office ("Revolving Door Justice"), the L.A. County Rapid Transit Authority ("Tagger Wars"), L.A. Archdiocese Obscenity & Pornography Commission (L.A., the Mafia, and Pornography") and the California Correctional Peace Officer's Association ("Prison Gangs").
He has been a "keynote" speaker for: National Major Gang Task Force, International Latino Gang Investigators Association, International Outlaw Motorcycle Investigators Association, California Gang Task Force, Central Coast Gang Investigators Association, Oklahoma Gang Investigators Association, Colorado S.T.I.N.G., Arizona State Gang Task Force, New Mexico Gang Task Force, Los Angeles County Bureau of Investigation, Orange County Gang Investigators Association, San Diego County Gang Investigators Association, San Mateo County Gang Investigators Association, Southern California Gang Conference, California Youth Authority Training Academy, Know Gangs, and the Heartland Law Enforcement Training Institute.
He is a frequent panelist on gang issues, including several sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice.
