Mireya Villarreal
Mireya Villarreal
Mireya Villarreal is an award winning journalist and CBS News correspondent residing in Los Angeles, California. [1]
Career
She began her journalism career at KGNS-TV in Laredo, Texas, as a weekend sports anchor and reporter. Villarreal is a veteran investigative reporter who covered consumer issues and exposed government corruption across Texas before she joined CBS News. [1]
At CBS News, Villarreal has covered a wide range of breaking news stories including the school shooting at Umpqua Community College shooting in Oregon and the Environmental Protection Agency's contaminated water leak into the Colorado River in Durango, Colo. She has also reported on the devastating wildfires in California that burned 36,000 acres in June 2016, as well as and the methane gas leak in Porter Ranch, California, that caused thousands to evacuate their homes. [1]
Awards
She won Emmy Awards for uncovering excessive spending by DFW International Airport executives, reporting on a system that allowed Texas school district employees to resign after wrongdoing, and exposing a real estate scam that targeted San Antonio homebuyers, which eventually sparked legal investigations into two local companies. She is also the recipient of two Texas Associated Press awards for stories on immigration and child safety. [1]
Education
Villarreal is a native of the Texas Rio Grande Valley and graduated from the University of Texas Pan American in 2001. [1]
Personal Life
In October 2019, Villarreal opened up in an essay about having a miscarriage while reporting on-air.
In her personal piece published on the CBS News website, she described that day in 2017 while covering the wildfires near Yosemite National Park in California:
"I was standing on the ridge of a scorched hill...I had trekked 45 minutes to the top of this hill, and was drenched in sweat, but determined not to give up.
When we got to the top of the ridge, I should have felt a sense of accomplishment.
Look what this tiny Hispanic woman from Edinburg, Texas, did: I climbed this mountain with a male production crew, covered a major story that would affect thousands of people's lives, and now I'm going to fight to get this story on CBS Evening News."[10][11]
Instead, Villarreal said she was in excruciating pain.
"It was like someone was taking a knife and stabbing my abdomen, right near the C-section scar from my first son", Villarreal wrote.
A co-worker told her she must have eaten a bad burrito for lunch.
They had no idea she was nine weeks pregnant.
She said only her husband, a few family members, and a few female co-workers knew about her pregnancy.
She wrote in the essay:
Villarreal said she bled for five more days and saw her doctor two more times to confirm she had lost the baby.
She wrote:
After her miscarriage, Villarreal said no one could say anything to comfort her.
She was angry at her husband, doctors, and co-workers.
But she said more than anything she was angry at herself.
She wrote:
Villarreal's personal story gained plenty of social reactions from women who have experienced a miscarriage to fellow and former co-workers sharing their support.
"Our sweet, brave @cbsmireya explaining the individualized pain that comes with miscarriage.
We love you, mama!
No telling how many people you’ve helped by telling your story," wrote News 4 anchor Delaine Mathieu on Twitter. Mathieu worked alongside Villarreal at the San Antonio TV station until Villarreal's departure in 2012. News 4 Trouble Shooter Emily Baucum, who also worked with Villarreal, wrote on Twitter: "Proud of my friend @cbsmireya for sharing her miscarriage story. I've watched countless women push their real-life problems aside, for fear of appearing weak to male colleagues. I watched her cover this wildfire and had no idea the pain she was concealing." [10][11]