Deborah Wang
Contributing Reporter, Editor, & Host
About
Deborah is a contributing reporter, editor, and host at KUOW. Since joining the staff in 2005, Deborah has done everything from political reporting to podcast hosting and she has served as interim news director. She is an award–winning radio and television journalist whose career spans more than three decades.
Deborah's first reporting job was at public radio station WFCR in Amherst, Massachusetts. In 1990, she went to work for National Public Radio and served as NPR's Asia correspondent based in Hong Kong. During that time, she covered the Persian Gulf War from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and then spent months in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq filing stories on the war's aftermath.
In 1993, she joined ABC News as a television correspondent in Beijing and Hong Kong, and covered, among other things, Hong Kong's handover from British to Chinese rule. In 1999, she set up the network's first news bureau in Seattle.
Deborah has also worked as an on–air anchor for CNN International, as host of IN Close on KCTS9 Public Television in Seattle. She is a long-time host on the TEDxSeattle stage.
In recent years, Deborah's reporting has focused on adolescents and mental health. She was the recipient of a 2018-2019 Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Journalism Fellowship.
Deborah has won numerous awards for her reporting, including the Alfred I. DuPont Silver Baton, the Overseas Press Club's Lowell Thomas Award and a Gracie Award from the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation.
To see more of Deborah's past KUOW work, visit our archive site.
Location: Seattle
Languages: English, conversational Chinese
Pronouns: she/her
Professional Affiliations: US Advisory Board Member, Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Journalism Fellowships
Stories
-
Environment
Crow versus eagle, who wins? And other answers to your animal questions
Here at SoundQs, we get a lot of questions about animals. We’re talking rats, bats, squirrels, crows, opossums, you name it. On this episode, we answer a dozen of your urban wildlife questions.
-
Health
What are the mental health concerns for international students?
International students face lots of pressures. They have to learn to navigate a new culture and education system, far from family and friends. That led one listener to wonder, what's the mental health status of international students?
-
Why does Seattle have so many Sephardic Jews?
Seattle has the third largest Sephardic Jewish community in the United States, according to some estimates.
-
Arts & Life
Why is Seattle's street grid such a disaster?
You can blame Doc Maynard, Arthur Denny and glaciers.
-
Education
Why can you hear gunshots at this high school?
Issaquah High School is like hundreds of other suburban schools around the country. But unlike most of those schools, the campus rings with the sound of gunshots.
-
Arts & Life
What is life like on Lake Union's houseboats?
Seattleites have been living in floating homes for more than 100 years. We visit a floating home community and hear about the excitement of life on the water in this week's episode of SoundQs.
-
Politics
Seattle is one of the worst cities in the U.S. for potholes
A SoundQ's listener asked why Seattle has so many potholes. So reporter David Hyde set out to learn why. And he discovered potholes are more than a nuisance - they're also a political talking point and a source of controversial art.
-
Health
Parents cheer final passage of bill to help mentally ill teens
Washington state law can make it hard for families to help teens who are experiencing mental health issues. A bill that would change that just passed the legislature.
-
How a hot dog with cream cheese became part of Seattle's food legacy
Seattle’s foodie reputation wasn’t exactly built on hot dogs. And yet, we still have our own spin – the Seattle dog. It’s a hot dog with grilled onions and cream cheese. The SoundQ's team finds out how this local take on street food was born.
-
Health
4 teens died by suicide in Seattle area over the weekend
Families across King County are mourning the deaths of four young people by suicide