Lea Zora is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker from Miami, Florida. Whether it’s in a sweat-filled boxing gym in Brooklyn, cosmetic surgery procedure in Turkey, or a Santa school in Dallas, she’s drawn to stories that are both impactful and entertaining.
Before joining KRIS 6 News as an investigative reporter, Lea served as a correspondent for the LA Sentinel on CBS Los Angeles.
Her background in documentary film has shaped her storytelling approach—developing and directing projects like Rethinking Strong: Black Athletes & Mental Health for CBS Sports, and overseeing series like Why Not Us for ESPN, which spotlighted Howard University’s golf team.
Lea has reported, produced, and directed for Vice News Tonight, shot, edited, hosted and produced videos at BuzzFeed, and served as an international field producer at National Geographic Studios. She’s also contributed to outlets including The Village Voice, Quartz, The New York Times’ T-Brand Studio, Tina Brown’s Women in the World Summit, and Radical Media.
Her accolades include a National Emmy for 2020 coverage at Vice News; a Planned Parenthood Media Excellence Award for Jailed for Miscarriage, a Nat Geo Explorer piece on extreme fertility laws in El Salvador; and an NABJ Salute to Excellence Award for The Harlem Quartet, a short doc on Black classical musicians. She has also earned two Gracie Awards and multiple honors for her independent boxing film Born Into This, including Best Sports Documentary at the Atlanta International Documentary Festival.
Lea is a graduate of Spelman College and holds a master’s degree in journalism with a concentration in documentary film from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
She is excited to tell stories impacting the Coastal Bend community and looks forward to elevating local newsroom content.
