The team
Betsy Lambert - News Director / 5 pm Anchor
An Emmy nominated and award winning journalist Betsy is excited to be back in Northern California. Born and raised in Chico, Betsy's passion for journalism began as a young child sitting on her father's lap watching the nightly news. Her other love was music and after high school she went to Arizona State University to study vocal performance but something always drew her back to journalism so she moved to Southern California to attend Cal State Northridge where she received her degree in broadcast journalism. After graduation she was hired by the CBS station in Idaho Falls, Idaho as a a news reporter/anchor/weather forecaster. From there she moved to Salt Lake City's ABC affiliate as a producer and then got back into reporting at the CBS/FOX station in Bakersfield. Betsy believes in covering the news that directly affects and interests the community and encourages viewers to send news tips to her at kiemnews@hotmail.com. Betsy's fiance Shane is a high school teacher and they have a three-year-old boxer named Layla and two kitties who they love dearly.
Matt Mendes - Reporter
Matt is thrilled to be living and working in one of California's most beautiful areas. Born and raised in Kingsburg, CA he is happy to make Eureka his new home. Matt is a proud graduate of Fresno State University where he was named, "Outstanding Broadcast Journalism Graduate." In college, Matt served as an anchor/reporter for Fresno State's student run newscast and interned at KGPE and KFSN while also working full-time as a dispatcher for the Fresno County Sheriff's Office. After graduating, Matt pursued his dream of working in television news and landed his first on-air job at the NBC station in Helena, Montana. He joined News Channel 3 in July of 2010. Matt enjoys the beach, trying new restaurants, and traveling. He studied criminology in Bangkok, Thailand in 2009 and has visited London, Paris and Rome.
Phillip Milani - Reporter/Weekend Sports Anchor
“I learned at a young age I wasn’t going to be able to play sports for a living so I thought I might as well talk about them,” says Phil. He always wanted to be a sports reporter and started talking, “about them” for CU Sports Magazine, the student run sports TV show at the University of Colorado, where Phil went to school. He also interned in the sports department at CBS4 in Denver. Before joining the News Channel 3 team Phil was a videographer for KKTV-TV in Colorado Springs. Phil is excited about meeting the people of the North Coast. He says you are most likely to find him in the sand bunkers at the local golf course or on the hardwood playing basketball. If you do see him out and about please come up and say hello.
Ben Kroeplin - 6 & 11PM News Anchor
Ben is a Wisconsin native whose broadcast career began in 2004 as the host of a radio morning show. After graduating from college in 2007, Ben followed his passion and made the transition into news. He began his journalism career as a general assignment reporter for WQOW-TV in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. In July of 2009 he made it to the North Coast and is currently a producer/anchor for News Channel 3's six and eleven pm newscasts. Ben prides himself on being a journalist, rather than a television personality. When he's not on the air, he enjoys drinking pina coladas and getting caught in the rain.
Tracey Leong - Reporter
Tracey comes to KIEM from Southern California where she worked as a multi-platform reporter for several local news outlets including Crown City News and Metro Motion. Additionally, Tracey worked as an editorial assistant for KNBC-TV in Los Angeles. Previously, she interned at KABC-TV in L.A. and on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in New York. In addition to her passion for journalism, she has been actively involved in the community with the Humane Society and was an organizer with C.A.U.S.E, a group that focused on voter registration efforts. Outside of her local community interests, she has spent time internationally teaching English to children in China. Tracey is a graduate of the Cal Poly Pomoma Department of Communication and also attended Hunter College in New York where she wrote for the school newspaper. She is excited to be in Northern California and loves the beauty of the Humboldt Redwoods and her chocolate lab, Molly.
Andrea Marvin – Reporter/Weekend News Anchor
Andrea joined the KIEM news team in October of 2009. She comes to us from a cable station in Southern Colorado where she got her start in the news business as an anchor and backpack reporter. She is a proud graduate from Colorado State University where she received a bachelors’ degree in communications with a minor in history. While in college she interned in the news department of FOX31 in Denver. Andrea enjoys reading; traveling, snowboarding and spending time with her loved ones. Andrea is excited to be living on the beautiful North Coast and wake up by the ocean everyday. Send news stories her way at kiemnews@hotmail.com
Manny Machado – Sports Director
Born in San Francisco, Manny was raised right here on the North Coast. He graduated from Eureka High School and went on to receive his bachelor’s degree in broadcast news from Humboldt State University. When it comes to local sports Manny’s favorite time of the year is football season. He hosts “3-Deep Coverage” which airs every Friday night during the season from the News Channel 3 locker room. The show provides highlights of local high school games along with in-depth looks at the area’s college teams, plus the always popular, “Question of the Week.” Away from work Manny loves to follow his favorite Bay Area professional teams including the Giants, 49ers, Warriors and Sharks. Manny & his wife enjoy spending time with family, traveling, and anything outdoors.
Jim Bernard – Chief Meteorologist
A veteran TV weatherman Jim has become a familiar and popular face on the North Coast over the past 20 years. He is an AMS certified meteorologist who brings you the most accurate and up to date weather information three times a day at 5, 6 and 11pm. Recently retired from the FAA as an air traffic control specialist Jim resides in the Trinidad area with his wife and two children. In his spare time he enjoys flying, kayaking, sailing, skiing and tending his “flock” of golden retrievers.
