KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Sam Perez is the weekend morning anchor and multi-skilled journalist here at WBIR. She joined the team in June 2024 from our sister station WLTX News19 in Columbia, South Carolina.
While working in the Palmetto State, Sam covered a wide variety of different stories, including all six weeks of the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial, updates on legislation in the statehouse, and USC’s journey to the NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four in Dallas. She primarily worked as a part of the Street Squad team, producing hyper-local stories in Sumter County.
Sam grew up not too far away in Lexington, Kentucky, where she discovered her passion for storytelling at a young age through competing with her middle school’s speech and debate team.
Sam eventually left the Bluegrass State and attended college at the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!) where she graduated with degrees in journalism and Spanish, and a New Media certificate.
In college, Sam worked as a reporter for the university’s television show, Grady Newsource, delivered news on the student radio program, and wrote for the local newspaper, The Red & Black.
During college, she interned at CNN’s Southeast News Bureau, Spectrum News 13 in Orlando, Florida, interned at Seacrest Studios in Levine Children’s Hospital, and worked as a Yarbrough Communications Fellow for Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. She also wrote the book Deviate From Denial: Erasing the Stigma of Addiction and Recovery Through Inspirational Stories.
In her free time, Sam enjoys trying out local restaurants, hiking, and getting to know East Tennessee and the community that lives here.
Sam is excited to be telling stories "Straight from the Heart” each and every day here in the Volunteer State.
You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or email her story ideas at sperez2@wbir.com.
