Clara Benitez-Cortez is KRIS 6 News Evening Anchor and Reporter. She is excited to be back in South Texas, after reporting in her hometown of San Diego, California.
Clara started her career reporting in Eugene, Oregon where she covered the demolition of the historic Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus. Clara spent three years in the Rio Grande Valley covering important border issues, including the Trump administration’s family separation policy and asylum seekers living in Mexico under MPP.
Her recent reporting in San Diego exposed the long route Ukrainian refugees were making from Europe to the US/Mexico border.
Clara is an award-winning journalist, earning an AP award for her investigation on a South Texas missing attorney, “El Gallito.” Her investigation helped Texas Rangers arrest and charge a family member with his disappearance and murder.
Clara attended the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. Go Sun Devils!
She is also a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, which emphasizes the importance of having more Latinos in news.
When Clara isn’t reporting, you can find her spending time with her husband and their dog Fredrick, getting coffee, or making Mexican food.
Have a story idea for Clara or just want to say ‘hi’? You can email her or send her a DM on social media.
