Michelle Valles: The Journalist Who Built a Career From the Border to Breaking News in LA
Michelle Valles has spent more than two decades reporting some of the most consequential stories in Texas and California, building a career that began covering U.S.-Mexico border issues in her hometown of El Paso and eventually led her to become one of the most recognized general assignment reporters at NBC4 Los Angeles, one of the country’s largest television markets.
Starting Out on the Border in El Paso
Valles grew up in El Paso, Texas, and went on to attend the University of Texas at Austin, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism in 1998. During her college years, she was active with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, earning recognition as a student projects honoree — an early sign of the professional involvement in Hispanic journalism organizations she would maintain throughout her career.
Valles’ first professional reporting job brought her right back to her hometown, working as a freelance reporter for KTSM-TV in El Paso from 1998 to 2003. Her reporting there put her directly at the center of some of the most sensitive stories along the U.S.-Mexico border. She secured exclusive access to a Mexican federal prison, covered notorious murder cases in Juárez, reported on conditions inside Mexican orphanages, and covered breaking news including border protests, numerous drug busts, deployments out of Fort Bliss, and the aftermath of the September 11 attacks as they affected the border region. That early run of high-stakes international and border reporting gave Valles a reporting foundation few local journalists build this early in their careers.
Becoming Austin’s First Latina Primetime Anchor
In 2003, Valles moved to Austin, Texas, joining KXAN-TV, the market’s NBC affiliate, as evening news anchor and reporter, a position she held for roughly five years until September 2008. Her arrival marked a notable milestone for the Austin market: she became the first Latina anchor there to anchor local primetime news. During her tenure at KXAN, she covered major breaking stories including Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the death and legacy of former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson, and an exclusive interview with musician Willie Nelson addressing marijuana use and decriminalization in America — a notable story given Nelson’s own long public advocacy on the issue. Her reporting during this period helped her team win the Texas Associated Press Best Newscast Award in 2007, and she was voted Best TV Anchor by Austin Chronicle readers.
Launching Austin’s First Lifestyle Magazine Show
In December 2008, Valles moved to KEYE-TV, Austin’s CBS affiliate, taking on a role as news anchor and lifestyle host. There, she helped create, co-host, and write “Austin Live” (also referred to as “We Are Austin Live”), described as Austin’s first-ever award-winning lifestyle magazine show. The hour-long program featured multiple segments built around interviews with authors, entertainers, and politicians, and it went on to become a flagship program format adopted by 20 Nexstar-owned stations across the country — extending Valles’ creative and hosting work well beyond the Austin market itself.
During this period, Valles also appeared in the HBO documentary series “Habla Texas,” which explored questions of language, identity, and assimilation in America. Her segment focused on the controversy she encountered after choosing to sign off her newscasts with “hasta mañana,” using her own on-air experience to illustrate the broader cultural tensions around bilingual identity in American media.
Joining NBC4 Los Angeles
Valles joined NBC4 Los Angeles (KNBC) in 2012, stepping into one of the country’s largest television markets after building nearly 15 years of reporting experience across Texas. At NBC4, she serves as a general assignment reporter for the station’s flagship “Today in LA” program and the NBC4 News at 11 a.m. on weekdays, and she also reports for and anchors the weekend edition of “Today in LA,” airing from 7 to 8 a.m.
Valles has described her coverage of Rodney King’s death as one of her most memorable assignments at NBC4. She anchored the station’s first breaking news report on the story and continued reporting from the field well into the evening as the story developed — the kind of fast-moving, high-pressure breaking news assignment that has defined much of her career across multiple markets. Other career highlights at NBC4 include a two-part investigation into Americans being unfairly detained in a Mexican federal prison, reporting that echoed the border and cross-border justice issues she first covered decades earlier in El Paso.
Awards and Recognition
Valles’ body of work has earned substantial recognition throughout her career. In 2017, she received the National Hispanic Media Coalition’s Impact Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism, one of the more prestigious honors recognizing Hispanic representation and achievement in American media. She has also been voted Best Anchor by the Texas Associated Press, the Austin Chronicle, and Rare Magazine at various points in her career. The Austin American-Statesman selected her for its Fortunate 500 List, recognizing community service contributions, for seven consecutive years — a sustained honor reflecting ongoing civic engagement rather than a single standout year.
In 2013, Valles was selected to join the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism’s Health Fellowship program, a competitive fellowship supporting journalists reporting on public health topics with greater depth and rigor.
Community Involvement
Valles has built an extensive record of community and nonprofit involvement throughout her career. She has served as a board member for the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the New Milestones Foundation, Reel Women, and the Mexic-Arte Museum. She has also served as a national ambassador for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, extending her advocacy work well beyond journalism into direct nonprofit leadership. Michelle remains an active member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and is fluent in Spanish, a skill that has directly shaped her bilingual reporting throughout her career, from her early border coverage in El Paso to her ongoing work in Los Angeles.
Quick Facts
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Michelle Valles |
| Hometown | El Paso, Texas |
| Education | University of Texas at Austin (BA, Journalism, 1998) |
| Employer | NBC4 Los Angeles (KNBC), since 2012 |
| Current role | General assignment reporter, “Today in LA” and NBC4 News at 11 a.m.; weekend anchor, “Today in LA” |
| Previously | KTSM-TV El Paso, KXAN-TV Austin, KEYE-TV Austin |
| Notable award | National Hispanic Media Coalition Impact Award (2017) |
FAQ
What does Michelle Valles cover at NBC4?
She’s a general assignment reporter for NBC4’s “Today in LA” and the NBC4 News at 11 a.m. on weekdays, and she also anchors the weekend edition of “Today in LA.”
Where did Michelle Valles start her journalism career?
She began as a freelance reporter at KTSM-TV in her hometown of El Paso, Texas, covering border and international stories from 1998 to 2003.
Was Michelle Valles a “first” in the Austin television market?
Yes — she became the first Latina anchor in the Austin market to anchor local primetime news during her time at KXAN-TV.
What awards has Michelle Valles won?
She received the National Hispanic Media Coalition’s Impact Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism in 2017, and has been voted Best Anchor by the Texas Associated Press, the Austin Chronicle, and Rare Magazine.
A Career Built on Border-to-Broadcast Range
From exclusive reporting inside a Mexican federal prison to anchoring breaking news on one of Los Angeles’ most consequential recent stories, Michelle Valles’ career has consistently placed her at the center of stories that carry real weight for the communities she covers. Her path from a hometown freelance reporting job in El Paso to a milestone anchor role in Austin and, eventually, a long-running position at NBC4 Los Angeles reflects more than two decades of steadily expanding responsibility — built on bilingual reporting skill, sustained community involvement, and a track record of being first on breaking stories wherever she’s worked.
