Comments (0) Best Local Television Reporter - 2001

Mary Benton KPRC-TV, Channel 2

Mary Benton stands out in the KPRC-TV crowd as a tough, capable, "no frills just the story" reporter. She was omnipresent during the aftermath of the June 9 flood, holding court in knee-deep water clad in galoshes and wielding a cordless mike. A native of Harlingen, Benton earned a journalism degree from the University of Texas while specializing in government and political science. She started her professional TV career in the Central Texas market at KCEN-TV and later moved to KTBC-TV in Austin as education reporter. Since joining KPRC in 1994 she has provided a welcome face of professionalism at a station engulfed by Buzz Ladies, traffic reporters-turned-news anchors and flash-trash graphics. Benton is not the only member of her family to have a high profile in Houston. Her brother, Levi Benton, is a Republican district judge appointed by then-governor George W. Bush.