2013 Black Excellence Awards Media Honoree Portia Young

Portia Young is the co-anchor of “12 News This Morning” from 4:30 to 7 a.m. weekdays. Portia was promoted to this position in 2008, after joining WISN 12 to launch the weekend edition of “12 News This Morning” in 2003. That launch brought Portia to Milwaukee four years into her broadcast journalism career, which began in Madison, WI.

Portia graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. While in college, Portia was a columnist for the Daily Northwestern and an editor for the Syllabus yearbook. Her love for journalism began in her high school yearbook class, in Detroit, MI, where Portia grew up.

While at WISN 12, Portia has covered countless stories as an anchor/reporter. Portia believes that everyone has a story to tell; the trick is, getting them comfortable enough to tell it. From tragedy to triumph, her reporting has taken her to flooded homes on Milwaukee’s north shore, tornado devastation, courtroom battles, Hollywood, California and North Texas for the Green Bay Packers Super Bowl XLV victory. Portia has a growing following on Facebook, as she enjoys interacting and connecting with Metro Milwaukee through social media, allowing viewers to see a side of the news they usually don’t see on television.

Portia has received many awards during her career. In 2009, she was nominated for an Emmy for her story on Archbishop Timothy Dolan’s legacy in Milwaukee’s Catholic Church. She also received an award that year from the Wisconsin Broadcaster’s Association for best coverage of the economic downturn for her series of reports which followed two Milwaukee women searching for employment. In 2011, she was named a Trailblazer in the Community by the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Epsilon Kappa Omega Chapter in recognition of her service in media.

Portia is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists. She loves Milwaukee and considers Wisconsin her home after living in the Badger state for more than a decade. She has a second family in Janesville, WI, which she adores. Portia is married to her husband, Chris; they recently welcomed their first child, their daughter Tatum.