NBC News hires investigative reporter Tammy Leitner

Tammy Leitner

Tammy Leitner

Tammy Leitner, an investigative reporter for NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5, is moving up to become a network correspondent for NBC News.

The promotion, announced in the NBC 5 newsroom Friday, is effective in early June.

Leitner joined NBC 5 in 2014 from CBS-owned WCBS-TV in New York. She previously had spent 11 years at KPHO-TV, the CBS affiliate in Phoenix, Arizona, where multiple honors for her investigative work included Peabody and Edward R. Murrow Awards.

“Tammy has done a terrific job the past two years with our NBC 5 Investigates team,” Frank Whittaker, station manager and vice president of news at NBC 5, told his staff in a memo. “She’s been at the forefront of stories about domestic and international terrorism, as well the growing problem of internet hacking.”

A native of San Diego, Leitner graduated from UCLA and earned a master’s degree in journalism from Boston University. In 2002 she appeared as a contestant on “Survivor: Marquesas,” the fourth season of the CBS reality series.

Here is the text of Whittaker’s memo:

To all:
 
It’s with mixed feelings that I tell you that Tammy Leitner is leaving NBC 5 News to become a correspondent for NBC News.
 
Tammy has done a terrific job the past two years with our NBC 5 Investigates team. Her exclusive stories are one of the reasons for our recent success. She’s been at the forefront of stories about domestic and international terrorism, as well the growing problem of internet hacking.
 
For Tammy, this is a chance to realize her goal of becoming a network correspondent. She’ll be with us in the newsroom through May 27th and will start with NBC News in early June.      We will miss her, but wish her the best in her new role. Congratulations to Tammy!