Welcome to 2013 Utah

Nadia Crow is Utah's first black News Anchor as she has landed a gig at KTVX in Salt Lake City.

"When we lived in Norfolk [Va.], there were black females in TV news who were good role models," she tells the Salt Lake Tribune. "And then when we moved to Chicago, you only had a few, even though Chicago is such a big city and it’s so diverse."

In Utah, Crow is the first African-American to land a regular news anchoring gig at a Salt Lake television station.

It’s rather remarkable that it took until the year 2013 for that to happen. And it’s one of the reasons Crow took the job in Utah despite offers from other stations. And despite the fact that KTVX is in the early stages of a major rebuilding process after a series of ownership changes, layoffs and staff turnover.

"I knew it would be a challenge coming here with the struggles they’ve had, but chaos creates opportunity," she said. "So I looked at it more as a challenge. And knowing that I would be the first African-American anchor was also a challenge that I wanted to take on."

Once she got used to the idea and visited Utah to check things out, that is.

"You just don’t think of black people being in Utah," Crow said. "Whether that’s true or not, that was my image and my perception of the state.

"I knew that my agent sent my résumé tape and all my materials here, but I just never thought it would come to anything. So when [KTVX news director] George [Severson] called me, I was, like, ‘I’m sorry, where are you from?’ " she said, with a laugh. 

"I asked George, ‘Is there somewhere I can get my hair done? Am I going to be able to go to the grocery store and see somebody that looks like me? What is going to happen if I come there?’ " Crow said.

 For Severson, hiring Crow was a no-brainer.

"I’m so amazed, for someone that young, how advanced her skills are," he said. "She stands out because she seems so engaged, especially coming to a whole new world."

Huh?! Utah is a new world? 

Who knew....