By Erin Reid P’01,’05

Alisha Davis ’91’s extensive career in print and broadcast television journalism has garnered her five Emmy Awards. Her work is wide-ranging and includes roles as a writer and producer at ABC News, reporter and editor for Newsweek, a news correspondent for MTV News, an anchor for E! News, and a prime-time entertainment anchor for CNN Headline News.

“I get to spend my time asking questions and talking to experts to get answers about the most interesting things happening on any given day,” she says. “I can’t imagine anything better.”

She was eager to attend a secondary independent school after being introduced to the concept at Greenwich Country Day School. “At that time, the school ended in ninth grade and sent roughly half its graduating class to boarding school,” she explains. “Additionally, I had a teacher, Ramsay Stabler ’73, who had gone to Hotchkiss and spoke highly of the experience. But my parents wouldn't allow me to go away, so off I went to a local high school for 10th grade. Midway through the year, my parents finally agreed that I would get a better education at Hotchkiss and allowed me to apply. I was accepted and entered as an upper mid in 1989.”

She cites the high quality of her Hotchkiss education for providing her with a strong foundation for her career. “I think it was the methods and ways that we were taught to think, question, analyze, research, and write at advanced levels throughout the curriculum that helped prepare me for journalism.”

Playing varsity hockey was one of the highlights of her time in Lakeville. “I had a background in figure skating, but coaches John and Christy Cooper P’08,’11 said they could teach me the rest.”

Davis matriculated at Harvard after Hotchkiss and majored in African American studies with a focus on contemporary culture and the arts. “I studied everything from literature and history to hands-on studio courses in arts like photography and filmmaking,” she said. And though she initially wanted to become an academic and study African-American culture, she changed course after a college magazine internship, realizing she was far more interested in covering culture and society as a journalist out in the field where it was actually happening.

Her vast experience in writing, producing, broadcast reporting, and correspondent work has resulted in a long-term position writing and producing for a major network. “I started out in print journalism for a news weekly, and I loved it, but I’ve discovered that I like the pace of daily journalism even better.” 

Davis has been working for ABC News and Good Morning America for 20 years this spring. Prior to that, she worked as a correspondent for Court TV’s entertainment news program Hollywood Heat and for MTV News, covering music and movies, as well as more serious topics such as politics and the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Before working at MTV News, she served as a co-anchor of the daily entertainment news program E! News Live. She has also made guest appearances, playing a journalist on HBO’s The Sopranos and on the ABC sitcom Hope and Faith.

Davis’s work has been widely recognized. She was featured as a journalist in a national print advertising campaign that appeared in more than two dozen top magazines, including Vanity Fair, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Rolling Stone, and Entertainment Weekly. She has been the focus of articles in many publications, including The New York Times, US Weekly, Ebony, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She has also served as a celebrity judge for the Miss Teen USA Pageant, which was broadcast in more than 70 countries.

“The industry has changed so much. I started out pre-internet. My first job was in print at Newsweek magazine. Now, print journalism and magazines have been decimated, legacy media are struggling, and most people get their news on their phones,” she said. “I think the biggest challenge facing journalism today is that society no longer seems to agree on a common set of facts. There can be many different opinions about an issue, but in an increasingly bipartisan world, when we can't agree on facts, we have a problem. Journalists default to ‘both sidesism’ and feel they have to present both sides of an issue. But there’s no value in reporting that one person says it’s sunny and the other person says it’s raining. You don’t learn anything about what’s actually going on.”

Over her lengthy career, she has traveled to “so many amazing places and covered so many different topics, from hurricane recovery in Haiti to the Oscars red carpet. And, actually, I would say those were two of my favorites.”

Davis is generous with her time and loves volunteering and mentoring young people. She served on the board of The Civilians, the nonprofit arts organization, and participated in the inaugural Marie Claire “It's Time to Talk” Anti-Domestic Abuse Campaign alongside other media figures, including Wendy Williams and Maria Bartiromo. She has volunteered for the Big Brother/Big Sister organizations, mentoring children directly as a Big Sister and serving as a co-chair of a Big Brother/Big Sister Charity Masquerade Ball held in Los Angeles. She has also volunteered with the Boys and Girls Club, and she is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists.

Davis values the two years she spent at Hotchkiss. “The resources, education, and opportunities available at Hotchkiss are unmatched. But it was the people at Hotchkiss and the time spent together with friends back in the dorms that I remember most fondly.”