Briana Whitney
Reporter & Host, True Crime Arizona
Arizona's Family
Briana Whitney joined Arizona's Family in February 2018 as a reporter and created and hosts True Crime Arizona, which consists of a podcast, TV specials, documentaries, and case investigations. When she's not working on true crime investigations, she is a nightside reporter turning stories for the 8, 9, and 10 p.m. newscasts during the week. She's from northern California, but before coming to Phoenix, she reported at KIII-TV in Corpus Christi, TX, for three years after college.
Briana's reporting in Phoenix has won her five Emmy awards for news stories and an Edward R. Murrow award for the True Crime Arizona podcast. The podcast has over a million downloads and is listened to in 100+ countries worldwide. In 2019, Briana helped break the story of Hacienda Healthcare, where a woman in an incapacitated state was raped and gave birth, with nobody at the facility knowing she was pregnant. She continued to follow that story and uncovered other abuse cases and malpractice. Her reporting led to a mass exodus of leadership positions, causing part of the facility to close and a change in Arizona law.
Briana also spent months following a Glendale firefighter's cancer claim denial. She continued to ask the city why the claim was denied when his type of cancer was covered under state law. Briana's reporting led to the city overturning the denial and the firefighter getting the help he needed for the rest of his life.
During her time in south Texas, she reported on several national stories. Some of the most memorable was the 2015 Wimberley floods, reporting for eight hours off the Gulf of Mexico during Hurricane Harvey in August of 2017, and reporting from the church shooting in Sutherland Springs in November of 2017.
Her reporting in Texas won her two Associated Press awards and an Emmy nomination for a half-hour special she wrote, produced, and hosted on the issue of child pornography.
Briana graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and, during college, spent time at several different news stations interning.
When she isn't out in the field working on stories, Briana loves checking out the best restaurants in the Valley, hiking local mountains, and taking trips to all the towns northern and southern Arizona has to offer.
