Laura Buxton

NEWS Anchor, Television Personality, KUSI TV
Community Leader

A twenty year veteran of San Diego's television broadcasting community, KUSI's Laura Buxton is one of the region's most versatile and recognizable personalities. Laura came to San Diego in 1980 where she was hired by KCST (now KNSD) as news co-anchor then host and writer/producer of Weekend Magazine. For the last three years at the station she was co-anchor of both the five and eleven o'clock news. In 1988 Laura went to her KGTV, where she signed as co-host and segment producer of Inside San Diego, a daily one-hour live news, talk and information program until it went off the air in 1993.

It was August of 1993 Laura came to KUSI; station owner Mike McKinnon thought it was time San Diego has a two-hour local morning newscast to compete head-to-head with the "Big Guys"-the Today Show, Good Morning America and the CBS Morning News. On January 5, 1994, the KUSI Morning News went on the air. Since then it has extended to three-and-a-half hours and is consistently top rated-a fixture on the local news scene that offers a unique blend of live news, entertainment, weather and sports with a decidedly candid, informal approach.

Laura's ancestry, background and experiences fully prepared her for successful and colorful television-journalism career. She was born in Washington, D.C. to a Marine Corps combat pilot. At six years she moved to Lafayette, Louisiana-the heart of the culturally rich Cajun country. In school she enthusiastically embraced music, via the flute and violin. She was invited to join the international cast of "Up With People" that resulted in three years of traveling and performing throughout the U.S. and around the world. In addition, she took a full college curriculum on the road through a joint program with the University of Hartford. After leaving "Up With People" she attended Middle Tennessee State University where she was recognized with national honors.

Journalism was a natural. Laura's paternal grandfather was Frank W. Buxton; Pulitzer Prize winning editor for what was then The Boston Herald. Their ongoing correspondence over the years inspired a career in journalism.

Laura works closely with the Muscular Dystrophy Association and The March of Dimes. She was named San Diego Magazine's "People to Watch", recipient of The San Diego Business Journal's "Women Who Mean Business Award," recognized for her work by the YMCA, and named "Woman of the Year" by Irish Congress of San Diego. Women's International Center is honored and delighted to present the Living Legacy Award 2000 to Laura Buxton, a woman for all seasons and all times.