Maggie Vespa, a news anchor at KGW-TV, faced sexism when a viewer criticized her style.
But she clapped back by wearing high-waisted pants on air, proving that women should dress as they please.
Born to parents who are both American and of white ethnicity, Maggie earned a Bachelor of Science degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Illinois.
She is estimated to have a net worth of between $1 million and $5 million and earns an annual salary of over $89,000.
Full story.
Maggie Vespa Quick Facts
| Full Name | Maggie Vespa |
| Nick Name | Maggie |
| Birthday | December 29, 1987 |
| Age | 36 years old |
| Birth Place | Peoria, Illinois, USA |
| Horoscope | Capricorn |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Caucasian |
| Education | University of Illinois |
| Father’s Name | Joe Vespa |
| Mother’s Name | Kay Hartzell Vespa |
| Siblings | Mike Vespa |
| Half-Siblings | |
| Height | 5 feet 5 inches (1.65m) |
| Weight | 58 kg (127 lbs.) |
| Shoe Size | 7 |
| Hair Color | Brown |
| Eye Color | Brown |
| Physique (Figure) | Fit |
| Married | No |
| Relationship Status | Single |
| Husband | N/A |
| Ex-Partner | N/A |
| Son | |
| Daughter | |
| Famous As | NBC Journalist |
| Net Worth | $1 Million – 5 Million |
| Social Media | @maggievespa |
Maggie Vespa Wiki, Age, Bio, Parents
Maggie was born on December 29, 1987, in Peoria, Illinois, USA. She is 36 years old.
Maggie was born to Kay Hartzell Vespa and Joe Vespa. Both her parents are American and come from white ethnicity background.
Kay and Joe married each other in April 1979 and they have been married for 45 years old years now.
Kay Vespa worked as a reporter & anchor at Peoria station. Interestingly, she was one of few females on TV during her time.
Maggie also has a brother named Mike Vespa, a lawyer who works at Hanauer Law Office, LLC.
He’s a former public defender and assistant public defender at the Peoria County Public Defender’s Office.
He studied at Northern Illinois University College of Law and now lives in his hometown of Peoria, Illinois.
Additionally, he serves as a Peoria city councilman, working to represent and serve his community.
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College Education
Maggie graduated from a local high school in her hometown.
For college, Maggie went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2006.
Four years later, in 2010, Vespa earned a Bachelor of Science degree in broadcast journalism.
While at the university, she worked for “the Daily Illini,” the school’s award-winning newspaper.
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Is Maggie Vespa Married? Husband
When it comes to her private life, especially her romantic relationships and love life, Maggie is quite private.
Additionally, there are no rumors about her affairs or previous relationships. She is presumably single at present.
Hobbies and interests outside of work
Without a doubt, her work is what she enjoys doing the most, but if we had to list some of her hobbies outside of work, they would be hiking, cooking, especially Italian food, and spending time with friends and family.
Volunteer work and community involvement
Vespa participates in a number of community activities and events in the Portland region.
She has helped with organizations like the Portland Police Bureau Sunshine Division and has mentored aspiring journalists through the student media program at Portland State University.
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Maggie Vespa’s Net Worth and Salary
Her net worth has been reported in various online tabloids, and no two numbers are exactly the same.
Maggie hasn’t publicly disclosed her exact net worth, which makes it more difficult for us to estimate it. However, her estimated net worth is somewhere between $1 million and $5 million.
Vespa receives an estimated annual salary of over $89,000 as a journalist and news anchor. This is the average income of a media personality in the USA.
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Maggie Vespa: NBC
She began her career working as a reporter and weekend anchor for the television stations in her hometown of Peoria, Illinois.
Vespa later found work at KGUN-TV in Tucson, Arizona, where she spent two years as a general assignment reporter.
In 2014, she began working for KGW-TV, which was also her longest stint on the news channel before she moved to NBC News as their correspondent in 2022.
Role as a News Anchor and Journalist at KGW-TV (2014)
In 2014, she began working for KGW-TV, where she held jobs as a lead reporter and host for the news show “The Story,” which specializes in in-depth coverage of regional topics.
Notable coverage and achievements in the field of journalism
During her time at KGW-TV, she covered a wide range of news, from breaking news to local news and social justice issues.
To name a few, Maggie covered the COVID-19 pandemic and forest wildfires in the Pacific Northwest, and along with that, she was involved in various digital and social initiatives by the channel.
Maggie Vespa’s Professional Achievements
These are the awards and recognitions Maggie has gotten so far.
- Emmy Awards (2018)
- Regional Award
- Recognized for her in-depth reporting
- Recognized for strong social media presence to engage viewers and promote her work.
Maggie has been excelling in the media industry with over a decade of experience. She has developed and learned from each station she has worked with so far, and she keeps engaging her audience with news that the general public finds interesting.
Furthermore, Maggie is a woman with substance. She has never been reluctant to speak out against injustices and to openly express both the good and bad sides of the media.
Additionally, Maggie has reported on multiple stories under various conditions that have benefited both her and the channels for which she has worked.
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Body measurements and physical appearance details
Maggie Vespa has an average height of 5 feet 5 inches and a body weight of 57 kg.
She has received criticism from the viewers for the way she styles her outfit on-screen, but it hasn’t stopped her because she exudes confidence and handles herself with grace on-screen.
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Maggie Vespa’s Experience with Sexism
Maggie, a reporter and fill-in anchor for KGW-TV, received criticism from a viewer regarding her choice of style while on air.
The viewer, named Jeffrey, direct messaged Maggie on her Facebook page to express his opinion that her pants looked “crazy” because they rode up so high above her waist.
In the message, Jeffrey stated that the clothes Maggie had been wearing were “not cool looking in any way” and that she was “way too pretty to look so foolish.”
He suggested that she “try dressing like a normal woman” and questioned whether KGW-TV paid her enough for a wardrobe makeover.
Her Response
Vespa responded by posting about the trolling on her Facebook page, which drew hundreds of comments from people who agreed that women in the public eye are under pressure to be physically attractive.
Vespa responded by wearing a different pair of high-waisted pants to each of the five shows she hosted that weekend. What’s more hilarious is that she documented the experiment with photos and showed it live on air.
Vespa’s goal was to convey to women and girls that they should dress how they wanted. She also emphasized that anyone who tries to make them feel bad is the problem themselves.
With this confrontation, Maggie also hoped to raise awareness of the profession’s sexism and the backlash that women face.
Importance of standing up to sexism and promoting body positivity in the media
It is crucial to learn how to fight sexism because it permeates every workplace, and no workplace is immune.
The gender pay gap and other structural concerns, such as sexist jokes, stereotyping, and biases that have historically gone ignored, have been particularly prevalent in the media.
Although there have been developments in recent years, there haven’t yet been any real advancements.
One iconic movement was when multiple women came forward revealing how Charlie Rose sexually harassed them, exploiting his powerful position.
It is important to stand up against such practices in the media to promote equity.
It is a powerful way of shaping norms and stereotypes about gender.
Women face sexism and various criticisms in the workplace. Some examples are derogatory comments, objectification, sexist humor or jokes, overfamiliar remarks, and gratuitous comments about dress and physical appearance, to name a few.
Maggie Vespa’s incident of sexism happens to females on a daily basis, regardless of their career and position.
Many women have spoken about their experiences with sexism in the entertainment industry. Remember when Reese Witherspoon’s financial advisor warned her that she’d make “drastically” less money in her 40s?
Similarly, Rose McGowan was told she’d only land roles if men found her physically attractive.
These are a few examples of such incidents that happen almost every day around the world in every profession.
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Prevalence of Sexism in the Media Industry (With Stats)
The media sector demonstrates a blatant gender imbalance.
According to an IWMF poll, women make up around a third (35%) of the global workforce in the media and hold slightly more than a quarter (27%) of the top managerial positions. Women journalists usually write on “soft topics,” such as social and health issues.
In comparison to women, men are more likely to discuss ‘hard subjects’ that are seen as more significant, such as politics and the economy.
Furthermore, only 4% of all newspaper, radio, and TV reports worldwide challenge gender stereotypes.
Only 24% of news subjects—the people who are interviewed or whom the news is about—are female.
Women are used as experts only 19% of the time.
In only 16% of news stories that relate to politics and government, women are the subject of the stories.
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Interesting Facts about Maggie Vespa
Early career experiences and notable accomplishments
In 2010, the correspondent began her career as a weekend producer and anchor at Granite Broadcasting.
She later worked for the Journal Broadcast Group as a reporter. Maggie’s longest employment was with KGW-TV, where she worked for nearly 8 years as a reporter and fill-in anchor.
Her big break in her career didn’t happen until she started working for NBC News and MSNBC as a correspondent in Chicago earlier last year.
Vespa shared the big NBC News announcement about the new position on Twitter and expressed her excitement for it by writing,
“Ecstatic to share this!!! I started working as a correspondent for NBC News on Monday. reporting for all of the network’s platforms and shows, located out of Chicago. This is a great honor for an Illinois child who grew up watching NBC.”
