Ashleigh Banfield
Encyclopedia
Ashleigh Banfield is a Canadian
-American
journalist
who as of 2010 hosts Disorder in the Court, Open Court and Hollywood Heat on Tru TV (formerly CourtTV), where she reports on domestic and pop culture issues. Prior to joining the network, Banfield worked for MSNBC
and reported from numerous overseas locations, including the Middle East
and Central Asia
. She received several Emmy Award
s for her body of journalistic work, and criticized media coverage of the Iraq War in April 2003. She was also briefly a law and justice correspondent on Good Morning America
until October 2011.
in Kenora, Ontario
, and at CKY-TV
in Winnipeg later that year. From 1989 to 1992, she anchored the weekend news for CFRN-TV
in Edmonton
, and from 1992 until 1995, at CICT-TV
in Calgary
, where she won two Iris Awards.
During her tenure at CICT, Banfield worked as a freelance associate producer for ABC
's World News Tonight. She covered the 1991 Bush/Gorbachev Summit in Russia and the 1992 Clinton/Yeltsin Summit in Vancouver
.
. According to the New York Times, she "fit nicely with MSNBC's positioning as the news network of choice for younger viewers", and executives at the network "also liked her frosted blond hair and trademark Clark Kent-style glasses." Before joining the network, she worked at KDFW-TV in Dallas, where she won an Emmy Award
. She also hosted MSNBC Investigates, worked at NBC News
, and became a host of HomePage along with Gina Gaston
and Mika Brzezinski
.
During the conflict in Afghanistan, Banfield interviewed Taliban prisoners, and visited a hospital in Kabul
. Later entries covered her travels from Jalalabad
to Kabul
, as well as other experiences in Afghanistan. In Pakistan
, she interviewed Father Gregory Rice, a Catholic
priest
in Pakistan, and an Iraqi woman aiding refugees. After A Region in Conflict, she received the 10pm timeslot with the show Ashleigh Banfield on Location.
In April 2003, in a speech at Kansas State University
, Banfield raised concerns regarding media coverage of the conflict in Iraq
. She also spoke against "cable news operators who wrap themselves in the American flag and go after a certain target demographic", and specifically named Fox News Channel
as an example. The New York Times reported that her speech angered NBC management, who rebuked her and lowered her profile.
Banfield joined CourtTV (renamed TruTV) in 2005. She was the co-host of the trial coverage show Banfield & Ford: Courtside weekdays from 1 to 3PM ET with Jack Ford. She is the only non-lawyer
among Court TV's anchors. She signed on to host celebrity gossip show "Hollywood Heat" in January 2007.
On June 1, 2009, Banfield took over as host of the truTV series Open Court weekdays from 9 to 11AM ET, formerly hosted by Lisa Bloom. Banfield regularly reported live on the Casey Anthony murder trial.
. She was also a backup singer for the band The Rusty River Rafters and member of a bar band. She became a naturalized U.S. citizen on October 24, 2008. She is a cigar
aficionado and enjoys Cuban cigars.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
who as of 2010 hosts Disorder in the Court, Open Court and Hollywood Heat on Tru TV (formerly CourtTV), where she reports on domestic and pop culture issues. Prior to joining the network, Banfield worked for MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
and reported from numerous overseas locations, including the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
. She received several Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s for her body of journalistic work, and criticized media coverage of the Iraq War in April 2003. She was also briefly a law and justice correspondent on Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
until October 2011.
Canada
She began her career in 1988 at CJBN-TVCJBN-TV
CJBN-TV, channel 13, is a television station based in Kenora, Ontario, Canada and affiliated with the CTV network. It can also be seen on cable TV channel 4 in the Kenora area, as well as on the Bell TV and Shaw Direct satellite services. The station adopted the CJTV brand in the early 2000s, but...
in Kenora, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, and at CKY-TV
CKY-TV
CKY-DT is a television station based in Winnipeg, Manitoba and owned by Bell Media. It is part of the CTV Television Network....
in Winnipeg later that year. From 1989 to 1992, she anchored the weekend news for CFRN-TV
CFRN-TV
CFRN-DT is a Canadian television station, broadcasting in Edmonton, Alberta. It is an owned and operated station of the CTV Television Network....
in Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, and from 1992 until 1995, at CICT-TV
CICT-TV
CICT-DT is a Canadian television station, licensed to and serving Calgary, Alberta. It is owned by Shaw Media, and is an owned-and-operated station of the Global Television Network...
in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, where she won two Iris Awards.
During her tenure at CICT, Banfield worked as a freelance associate producer for ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's World News Tonight. She covered the 1991 Bush/Gorbachev Summit in Russia and the 1992 Clinton/Yeltsin Summit in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
.
United States
In early 2000, Banfield was hired by MSNBCMSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
. According to the New York Times, she "fit nicely with MSNBC's positioning as the news network of choice for younger viewers", and executives at the network "also liked her frosted blond hair and trademark Clark Kent-style glasses." Before joining the network, she worked at KDFW-TV in Dallas, where she won an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
. She also hosted MSNBC Investigates, worked at NBC News
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
, and became a host of HomePage along with Gina Gaston
Gina Gaston
Gina Gaston is a television journalist and currently the lead female anchor for KTRK-TV in Houston, Texas.-Career:...
and Mika Brzezinski
Mika Brzezinski
Mika Emilie Leonia Brzezinski is an American television news journalist at MSNBC. Brzezinski is co-host of MSNBC's weekday morning program Morning Joe, where she provides regular commentary and reads the news headlines for the program...
.
During the conflict in Afghanistan, Banfield interviewed Taliban prisoners, and visited a hospital in Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
. Later entries covered her travels from Jalalabad
Jalalabad
Jalalabad , formerly called Adinapour, as documented by the 7th century Hsüan-tsang, is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Located at the junction of the Kabul River and Kunar River near the Laghman valley, Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province. It is linked by approximately of highway with...
to Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
, as well as other experiences in Afghanistan. In Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, she interviewed Father Gregory Rice, a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
in Pakistan, and an Iraqi woman aiding refugees. After A Region in Conflict, she received the 10pm timeslot with the show Ashleigh Banfield on Location.
In April 2003, in a speech at Kansas State University
Kansas State University
Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...
, Banfield raised concerns regarding media coverage of the conflict in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. She also spoke against "cable news operators who wrap themselves in the American flag and go after a certain target demographic", and specifically named Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
as an example. The New York Times reported that her speech angered NBC management, who rebuked her and lowered her profile.
Banfield joined CourtTV (renamed TruTV) in 2005. She was the co-host of the trial coverage show Banfield & Ford: Courtside weekdays from 1 to 3PM ET with Jack Ford. She is the only non-lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
among Court TV's anchors. She signed on to host celebrity gossip show "Hollywood Heat" in January 2007.
On June 1, 2009, Banfield took over as host of the truTV series Open Court weekdays from 9 to 11AM ET, formerly hosted by Lisa Bloom. Banfield regularly reported live on the Casey Anthony murder trial.
Education
- Balmoral Hall SchoolBalmoral Hall School-History:Balmoral Hall was founded in 1901 as Havergal College, located at 122 Carlton Street. The name was changed in 1917 to Rupert's Land College to end the confusion with the institution of the same name in Toronto....
, 1985 - Queen's UniversityQueen's UniversityQueen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
, BA (Political Science) 1988 - University of British ColumbiaUniversity of British ColumbiaThe University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
, 1992
Personal life
Banfield is married to businessman Howard Gould and they have two sons, Jay Fischer Gould (born 2005) and Ridley Banfield Gould (born 2007). They reside in New Canaan, Connecticut
New Canaan, Connecticut
New Canaan is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, northeast of Stamford, on the Fivemile River. The population was 19,738 according to the 2010 census.The town is one of the most affluent communities in the United States...
. She was also a backup singer for the band The Rusty River Rafters and member of a bar band. She became a naturalized U.S. citizen on October 24, 2008. She is a cigar
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
aficionado and enjoys Cuban cigars.