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Since 1975, Howard Ain has served as the
LOCAL 12 Troubleshooter. A graduate of the University of Missouri, he holds both a bachelors and a masters degree in journalism.
Prior to joining WKRC-TV, Howard worked at WLWD-TV in Dayton, OH, WPSD-TV in Paducah, KY, and KAIT-TV in Jonesboro, AR.
In addition to appearing on newscasts at 4:00, 6:00 and 11:00pm Howard writes a weekly column for all Community Press Newspapers.
Howard is married and has six children.
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Deborah Dixon has worked in almost every area of the LOCAL 12 Newsroom since she started as the station’s Graphic Artist in April, 1974.
The day after she began working at LOCAL 12, tornadoes hit Xenia. She helped the assigned reporter cover the story. The “news bug” bit, and she worked as a producer before becoming a full-time reporter.
In 1980, Deborah helped to bring
Crimestoppers to Cincinnati. Because there were so few in the country, some people were reluctant to risk trying such a franchise. It became a highly useful tool that has led to the arrests of hundreds of killers, rapists and thieves.
Today, the succes of the local
Crimestoppers program is very evident. Hundreds of violent crimes have been solved, more than 20 million dollars in stolen property recovered, and over 7 thousand total cases solved. When speaking of the program, Deborah has stated “it has been the pride and joy of my career.”
Deborah graduated from Baldwin Wallace College in Cleveland, OH. She is married with two children.
You can email Deb at
DDixon@local12.com.
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Jeff Hirsh has been reporting in Cincinnati since November 1979. He joined LOCAL 12 in 1998.
His first reporter job was in Roanoke, Virginia at WDBJ-TV from 1977-79. Jeff Hirsh has three degrees, he earned a History BA from the University of Michigan, an MA in History from Washington University and an MA in Journalism from the University of Missouri.
After more than 20 years of reporting Jeff has been honored with numerous awards. He has 21 regional Emmy awards and 8 Ohio AP awards. Others associations that have honored Jeff include: Education Writers Association, Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association, International Association of Firefighters, and Women In Communication (Clarion Award).
Jeff’s biggest rewards are his wife and two children.
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Dan Hurley has worked with LOCAL 12 since 1981. He produces weekly segments that use history to frame contemporary issues. Dan is also a producer and host for “12 Newsmakers”, LOCAL 12's weekly program that explores the political and urban issues confronting our metropolitan region. “Newsmakers” airs on Sunday mornings at 11.
Dan has also produced award winning documentaries for WKRC on the history of northern Kentucky, the history of the Ohio River and the inland rivers steamboat, as well as the Union Terminal murals.
Dan is the President of Applied History Associates, a public history consulting firm that works with museums and historical societies throughout the eastern United States. His clients include the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, the Parker House in Ripley, Ohio, and Reynolda House in Winston Salem, North Carolina.
Dan produced the exhibit for the Education Center at the William Howard Taft National Historic Site, video documentaries on the history of the mass transit in Cincinnati, the floral industry in western Hamilton County, and the history of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. He also produced an audio documentary on CD about the life and career of Ruth Lyons.
He is the author of Cincinnati, The Queen City (1981), One Child at a Time: a History of the Children’s Home of Cincinnati (1992), Steamboat Days on America’s Rivers (1995) and Otterbein: Affirming Our Past/ Shaping Our Future (1996).
Dan graduated from Xavier University in 1968. He did his graduate work in American colonial history at the College of William and Mary in Virginia.
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LOCAL 12 Reporter Richard Jaffe was born is Gainesville, FL. He attended high school on Cincinnati’s east side, and graduated from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music.
Initially, Rich worked at a local advertising agency, then at WLWT-TV as a news photographer when he finished college. Rich began as a reporter for LOCAL 12 in April, 1991. Four days later he married his high school sweetheart.
Rich is an experienced news veteran with more than 20 years in the business, both here and in south/central Florida. He says he never really wanted to be a reporter… it just seemed like a natural progression for a storyteller. His interest in television, actually stems from an interest in photography and a desire to “capture the moment.”
An accomplished musician, when he’s not working, Rich enjoys his family, hunting, fishing, spear fishing and cooking.
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Joe Webb is an award-winning reporter who's been covering Cincinnati for the last 16 years. He’s been with LOCAL 12 since the summer of 2002. Joe is a native of Ponca City, Oklahoma and a graduate of Oklahoma State University. He started his broadcast career in Tulsa, Oklahoma where he was hired after a college internship. Joe got into television because he loves to meet new people and tell their stories. That could explain why some people refer to him as "The Storyteller."
Joe is an avid runner, a mediocre golfer and a diehard fan of the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Joe lives in Northern Kentucky with his wife Karla and their two children, Sam and Grace.You can call him with story ideas/suggestions/complaints or just to talk at 763-5504.
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Larry Davis is a good example of it's never too late to start something new. After spending 28 years in radio news, he has launched a career in television. Larry came to LOCAL 12 in 2001 as a writer and was also on the assignment desk and field produced before becoming a reporter in the summer of 2003.
Larry spent a year in California writing news for an internet web site. Prior to that, he spent 10 years as a news anchor and reporter at 700 WLW radio. He has been fortunate to spend the majority of his career in Cincinnati where he also was an anchor/reporter at WKRC- AM radio, 96 ROCK and WSAI-AM.
Davis attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio where he was a member of both the news and sports departments. Larry has two children - Matt who lives in Chicago with his wife Melinda and Lauren resides in Columbus.
Liz Bonis
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Liz Bonis is a registered dietitian, a certified personal trainer, and a diabetes educator with a Master of Science Degree in Public Communication & Radio-Television News. Liz received a Bachelor's Degree from the College of Applied Science at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and her Masters Degree from the Newhouse School of Public Communication at Syracuse University. She first began working with LOCAL 12 in January 2002. Liz has been a health & medical reporter for nearly 10 years in both radio and television. She is the former host of the Mix 94.1 "Liz & Carson" morning show in Cincinnati, and the syndicated weekend health and fitness radio show on 55WKRC --"Lighten Up with Liz." Liz publishes a monthly health and wellness newsletter, has a personal fitness video called "The Lazy Way to Lighten Up (for women)", and writes weekly on-health articles at Lightenupwithliz.com. She currently hosts seminars nationwide on fighting fat, getting fit, stress management, diabetes breakthroughs, weight loss, women's health and nutrition.
Liz is active in Cincinnati with the American Heart Association, the Greater Cincinnati YMCA, the Northern Kentucky Chapter of the American Dietetic Association, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the American Cancer Society and Crossroads Community Church in Oakley.
Shawn Ley
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Shawn Ley is an Emmy award-winning reporter with 15 years of experience tracking down news around the country and around the world. Now, Shawn is finally where he wants to be: Living in Cincinnati and working for Local 12, the region's top news team.
Shawn comes to Local 12 after reporting the news on the streets of Detroit. Prior to the Motor City, Shawn won Emmy awards for his hard-hitting reports in Phoenix & for his 4 years of reporting right here in Cincinnati.
A native of Dayton, Shawn was awarded with an Associated Press honor for his reports from Bosnia, during the "Dayton Peace Accords," the Dayton-based agreement which ended the war in the former Yugoslavia. He also won an AP top reporting honor for his reports from the mountains of eastern Kentucky.
Have a story you want Shawn to tell? E-mail him at: sley@local12.com
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Bob Herzog joined the LOCAL12 team in December 2005. He anchors Local 12 Saturday morning newscasts, serves as Traffic Reporter on Good Morning Cincinnati and produces the offbeat segment known as The Cooler.
Bob is proud to be a native Cincinnatian. He attended Oak Hills High School and Xavier University where he majored in Communications – Electronic Media. One of his first jobs upon graduation was news director of country radio station with WNKR-FM in Dry Ridge, Kentucky.
Bob went back to school and earned a law degree from Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University, but his love for telling stories would eventually bring him back to broadcasting. Bob did commercial and voice-over work for years before landing his first steady job in television as an entertainment host on Cinema 64.
Bob’s number one hobby is spending time with his wife Cali and their four children. When he’s not running around with the kids Bob can often be caught watching movies, listening to Huey Lewis & the News, or cheering for the Kentucky Wildcats basketball team. You can email Bob at
Bherzog@wkrc.com.
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Jessica Donnellon joined the Local 12 team in March 2006. She is a reporter for Good Morning Cincinnati.
Jessica is a native of Vevay, Indiana. She attended DePauw University and her first job after college was with WEVV-TV in Evansville, Indiana. From there Jessica went on to WEHT in Evansville. Before joining the Local12 family, Jessica reported for another station in Cincinnati, WB64. When asked to make the switch, Jessica jumped at the chance to join the most respected news team in the Tri-state.
In 2006 Jessica was honored at the Midwestern Regional Emmy Awards for outstanding achievement in Breaking News for her coverage of a rescue in the Duck Creek near Interstate 71.
Jessica loves her career so much, when asked about it she replies, “It’s so fulfilling to hear someone’s story and turn that into an important message for the rest of our viewers. I love being out in the field, meeting new people and learning about new issues in our community. The crazy Cincinnati weather can be tough, but it beats sitting at a desk any day!”
Jessica is married to Brad and they live in West Chester. They recently welcomed a baby girl into the family. In her free time Jessica enjoys speaking to school groups about journalism, running, socializing with family and friends, and watching/betting on sports. If you have a story idea for Jessica, send her an email at Jdonnellon@wkrc.com.
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Tara Pachmayer is thrilled to be back home as the Weekend Sports Anchor/Reporter at Local 12. She¹s been watching Local 12 since she was 12. That's when her family moved to Cincinnati from North Canton, Ohio. That's also the same year the Reds won the World Series. Coincidence? Perhaps, but she already knew she wanted to be a Sports Reporter. She's actually known since kindergarten. Her dad used to take her to watch basketball at Walsh College in North Canton so she could learn the game. The coach there at the time, Bob Huggins.
Tara graduated with honors from Princeton High School in 1995. She then picked her school based on who she thought would win a National Championship while she was there. She got 2. She's a 1999 University of Kentucky grad with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.
After graduation, Tara wanted to come home. She was lucky enough to land a gig as a Sports Producer at Local 12. She was at Local 12 for nearly 3 years before moving to Memphis to be a Sports Reporter/Anchor at WREG-TV. Tara covered the NBA Memphis Grizzlies, the University of Memphis and Ole Miss in her 4 years there.
Tara's hobbies include, well, watching sports. She lives and breathes college basketball and the NFL is a close second. She also enjoys working out, shopping and listening to country music. And of course, spending time with her family that lives in Cincinnati.
You can email Tara at
TPachmayer@local12.com.
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Lauren Bercarich joined the Local 12 team as a reporter in August of 2006, just in time for the debut of Local 12 at 10 on My 64. A native “Jersey Girl," Lauren is excited to be working in the Queen City.
Lauren grew up watching Barbara Walters on 20/20 and always wanted to be a reporter. Her first college internship at FOX Philadelphia sealed the deal. She was hooked by the interesting people she met and the amazing stories she watched unfold. That’s when an interest in journalism turned into a passion.
WLFI-TV in Lafayette, Indiana was Lauren's first stop where she worked as a reporter and weekend anchor. Her next job was at WSIL-TV in Southern Illinois where she wore several hats; reporter, anchor and producer. Being out in the field is Lauren’s passion, after all that’s where you get to see news happen!
Lauren is both a “Wildcat” and an “Orangeman.” She received her BA from Villanova University where she graduated with honors. She later earned her MS in Broadcast Journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication at Syracuse University.
Outside of work, Lauren likes to curl up with a good book and play sports. She has always had the "travel bug" and her favorite destination is home to New Jersey to visit family and friends.
E-mail Lauren anytime with a story or suggestion at Lbercarich@wkrc.com
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Angela Ingram is the newest reporter to join the Local 12 team. She came to Cincinnati in December 2006 after meeting corporate executive Steve Minium at a career fair.
Angela’s hometown is the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia but she knows the Queen City will be her new home away from home. Ingram graduated from Temple University with a bachelors degree in Broadcasting. She also earned a JD from Valparaiso University, she’s a licensed attorney.
Angela loves to write and enjoys the excitement of “live” television. That combination is what drew her to the field of reporting. While in college, she participated in two internships. Angela’s first job after college was a desk and production assistant at NBC10 in Philadelphia.
Some of the stops along Angela’s career path include WPHL and 6ABC in Philadelphia, First State News and Tri-State Media in Delaware and WSBT in South Bend, Indiana.
Outside of work, Angela enjoys cooking a good meal, traveling, reading nonfiction and watching classic movies.
E-mail Angela anytime with a story or suggestion at AIngram@WKRC.com.
