A dedicated journalist who could cover any story. A colleague who always had your back in the field. A caring and compassionate person who never wavered from the belief that she can help make the world a better place.
Those are some of the ways co-workers, and others who know her, describe Angie Crouch, an Emmy award winning reporter who is retiring from NBC4 after nearly two decades of sharing stories that mattered to Southern Californians.
She will sign off for the final time on Friday after an illustrious career in television news.
Photos: Celebrating Reporter Angie Crouch's Career at NBC4
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Crouch followed her dreams from a small town in Michigan to the bright lights of Los Angeles, where she made a difference both as a reporter and someone who devoted her time away from the job to working with charities and other causes.
“Angie has a positivity out there in the field that she’s been able to maintain all these years,” said NBC4 photojournalist Sean Browning.
Crouch started at NBC4 in 2004 and became a familiar face and voice to viewers, covering stories in Southern California and beyond that included the death investigation of Michael Jackson, the Station Fire, mudslides and other natural disasters, and the earthquake in Haiti.
“When she tells a story, you know it’s an important story,” said NBC4 anchor Colleen Williams. “One of my favorite stories about Angie — she’s covering the President at the airport, there was something going on at Santa Monica College. Angie borrowed a bike from someone and rode from LAX to Santa Monica to cover the story.
“Angie is all about dedication. But she’s pretty resourceful, too.”
Those qualities shined from the start of the story process to the finish, no matter the subject.
“Angie can cover any story,” said NBC4 Vice President of News Renee Washington. “Her versatility and her ability to earn people’s trust are her superpowers and what sets her apart from other reporters. While I am happy for Angie, this is truly our loss.”
Crouch earned many awards that reflect the range of stories she covered during her nearly two decades at NBC4. Those include an Emmy for Best Documentary for "A Millionaire's Murder;" an Associated Press Award for "Teens Doin' Time;" a United Press International Award for "Living with AIDS;" a Los Angeles Press Club Award for breaking news coverage of the Los Angeles wildfires; and a Los Angeles Emmy, Golden Mike and Los Angeles Press Club Award for "Year of Living Dangerously," the story of the youngest sailor to circle the globe.
When she's not on television, she's busy working to help whatever it is she's focused on get better.
NBC4 Chief Political Correspondent Conan Nolan
“Angie had a way of having that confidence to speak to anybody because she believed in hearing their story,” said station President and General Manager Todd Mokhtari. “It didn't matter to her what you look like or where you lived. She wanted to hear your story.”
Crouch told those stories with heart, compassion and a distinct voice that Southern Californians recognized.
“It’s so deep and resonant and you know who that is because nobody else sounds like Angie,” said Browning.
But Crouch found time to devote to charities and other causes that were close to her heart.
“There are plenty of folks who get into this line of work thinking that through journalism they can change the world. And then the reality sort of dissuades that notion very soon,” said NBC4 chief political correspondent Conan Nolan. “Angie Crouch is one of those individuals who never wavered from that mission.
“When she’s not on television, she’s busy working to help whatever it is she’s focused on get better. This is a woman who’s volunteered in orphanages over in Africa."
Crouch received the Good News Foundation's Community Service Award for her fundraising efforts on behalf of the Agape Orphanage in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. She also spent a month living in a remote village in South Africa volunteering with AIDS orphans and was nominated for an Emmy for the story she shot and produced about the orphans.
Crouch also worked with a number of relief agencies helping victims of the Haiti earthquake. She is active in fundraising for the global Movember campaign to cure Prostate Cancer and runs a program called Steppin' Out!, which introduces inner-city children to culture and arts. She serves on the Board of Directors for LACER after-school program in Hollywood.
“I love her. She is hilarious,” said Will Seymour, executive director of LACER. “She took students to the theater, she took students to the studio.
“For students to meet someone that they’ve seen on television for years, knew who she was, and have access to her, ask her questions about her work, she made a huge impact.”
