Elisabeth Leamy
{{short description|American journalist, author and speaker (born 1967)}}
{{Primary sources|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Elisabeth Ann Leamy
|image = Eli Leamy at the Mic at an Event.jpg
|caption = Leamy in 2013
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1967|09|10}}
|birth_place = St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
|death_date =
|death_place =
|other_names = Eli
|occupation = {{hlist|American journalist| author|speaker|Investigative correspondent for The Dr. Oz Show}}
|known_for = Consumer correspondent for Good Morning America and other ABC News programs
|awards= {{hlist|13 Emmy Awards|4 Edward R. Murrow Awards}}
|footnotes =
}}
Elisabeth Ann Leamy (born September 10, 1967) is an American journalist, author and speaker. Currently, she writes a column for The Washington Post.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/elisabeth-leamy/|title=Elisabeth Leamy|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=1 February 2018}} Leamy also hosts a podcast called "Easy Money", produced by District Productive in Washington, D.C.{{Cite news|url=https://districtproductive.com/easy-money-with-elisabeth-leamy/|title=Easy Money with Elisabeth Leamy - District Productive|work=District Productive|access-date=2018-02-01|language=en-US}}
Leamy has been the investigative correspondent for The Dr. Oz Show since 2013. From 2005 to 2013, she was the consumer correspondent for Good Morning America and other ABC News programs.{{cite web|title=Elisabeth Leamy Biography|url=https://abcnews.go.com/author/elisabeth_leamy|website=ABC News|publisher=ABC News Internet Ventures|access-date=7 November 2014}} Leamy wrote an ABC News Business column from 2006 to 2015.{{cite web|title=Elisabeth Leamy Consumer Correspondent|url=https://abcnews.go.com/business|website=ABC News|publisher=ABC News Internet Ventures|access-date=7 November 2014}} In 2014, she was the host of the YouTube show "Free For All", about free products and services available to consumers.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZsySbMSwveuArzKnEsTbQJB-HU0wfkGN|title=Free For ALL with Elisabeth Leamy - YouTube|website=YouTube|language=en|access-date=2018-02-01}}
Leamy is the author of two books, Save BIG: Cut Your Top 5 Costs and Save Thousands (2010){{cite book|last1=Leamy|first1=Elisabeth|title=Save Big : Cut Your Top 5 Costs and Save Thousands|date=2011|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|location=Hoboken, N.J.|isbn=978-0470918173|url=https://archive.org/details/savebigcutyourto0000leam|access-date=7 November 2014|url-access=registration}} and The Savvy Consumer: How to Avoid Scams and Rip-Offs That Cost You Time and Money (2004){{cite book|last1=Leamy|first1=Elisabeth|title=The Savvy Consumer : How to Avoid Scams and Ripoffs that Cost You Time and Money|date=2004|publisher=Capital Books|location=Sterling, Va.|isbn=978-1931868570|edition=1st}} and is the recipient of 13 Emmy awards.{{cite web|title=MegaMetro NewsCenter Story Archives June–August 2000|url=http://www.geocities.ws/dcbaltotvnews/newsarchives/062000archives.htm|website=MegaMetro TV NewsCenter|access-date=7 November 2014}}{{cite news|last1=Maynard|first1=John|title=Youth Is Served At Local Emmys|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/18/AR2005061801146.html|access-date=7 November 2014|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=June 19, 2005}}
Leamy is also a professional speaker with membership in the National Speakers Association.{{cite web|title=Elisabeth Leamy|url=http://nsadc45.wildapricot.org/Sys/PublicProfile/11107867/1495291|website=NSA-DC|access-date=7 November 2014}} She gives speeches about financial literacy,{{cite web|title=SUMMIT TO RAISE FINANCIAL LITERACY AWARENESS IN SCHOOL|url=http://www.state.nj.us/education/news/2010/1001sum.htm|website=State of New Jersey Department of Education|publisher=NJDOE|access-date=7 November 2014}} career success,{{cite web|title=Annual Meeting—Elisabeth Leamy|url=http://amp14.conferencespot.org/55692-2-amgt-1.1097279/elisabeth-leamy-1.1097438|website=Association Media & Publishing|access-date=7 November 2014}} pitching stories to the media,{{cite web|last1=Leamy|first1=Elisabeth|title=ABC News Reporter Elizabeth Leamy to Share 'Secret Sauce' of Marketing at NWCUA Conference|url=http://www.nwcua.org/posts/abc-news-reporter-elizabeth-leamy-to-share-secret-sauce-of-marketing-at-nwcua-conference|website=Anthem|access-date=7 November 2014}} and saving money.{{cite web|last1=Leamy|first1=Elisabeth|title=2011 Speaker Handouts & Presentations|url=http://www.maconferenceforwomen.org/speaker-handouts/|website=Massachusetts Conference For Women|access-date=7 November 2014}}
Early life
Elisabeth Ann Leamy was born September 10, 1967, in St. Louis, MO, and spent most of her childhood in the San Francisco Bay Area. She graduated from The Branson School in Ross, California.{{cite magazine|magazine=Branson Magazine | title=Class notes | publisher=Branson School | date=2012|url=https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/53935729/farewell | access-date=3 July 2025}}
Leamy received her bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley{{cite web|title=Elisabeth Leamy ABC News Official Bio Page|url=https://abcnews.go.com/News/elisabeth-leamy-abc-news-official-biography/story?id=1026778|website=ABC News|publisher=ABC News Internet Ventures|access-date=7 November 2014}} and her master's degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
Career
=Early career=
Leamy began her television news career in Bakersfield, California, at KERO-TV 23. She then worked at WFLA-TV in Tampa from 1994 to 1997. Leamy was the consumer and investigative reporter at Fox 5 WTTG in Washington, D.C., from 1997 to 2005.{{cite news|title=Revolving Door 7.8.05 (Updated)|url=http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowldc/revolving-door-7-8-05-updated_b809|access-date=7 November 2014|publisher=Mediabistro|date=8 July 2005}}
=Current career=
Currently, Elisabeth Leamy writes a Washington Post consumer column{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/elisabeth-leamy/|title=Elisabeth Leamy|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en|access-date=2018-02-01}} about topics such as how to avoid robocalls,{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/are-robo-calls-driving-you-crazy-heres-how-to-block-and-beat-them-for-good/2017/09/11/23c9d6d6-9253-11e7-89fa-bb822a46da5b_story.html|title=Are robo-calls driving you crazy? Here's how to block and beat them.|last=Leamy|first=Elisabeth|date=2017-09-12|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2018-02-01|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}} whether expensive paint brands are worth it,{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/are-expensive-trendy-paint-brands-really-worth-it/2017/10/30/f314f592-b2b5-11e7-a908-a3470754bbb9_story.html|title=Are expensive, trendy paint brands really worth it?|last=Leamy|first=Elisabeth|date=2017-10-31|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2018-02-01|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}} and ways to save money on organic groceries.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/|title=Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News & Analysis|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en|access-date=2018-02-01}}
Leamy launched a podcast in June 2006 called "Easy Money" about ways to make more money, save more money, and find your unclaimed money.{{Cite web|url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/easy-money-with-elisabeth-leamy/id1253057519?mt=2|title=Easy Money with Elisabeth Leamy by District Productive on Apple Podcasts|website=Apple Podcasts|language=en|access-date=2018-02-01}} The podcast has an accompanying blog where Leamy posts detailed show notes for her listeners.{{Cite news|url=https://easymoneyshow.com/home/|title=HOME {{!}} Easy Money Show|work=Easy Money Show|access-date=2018-02-01|language=en-US}}
From 2005 to 2013, she was the consumer correspondent for Good Morning America and other ABC News programs. Leamy continues to write an ABC News Business column.{{cite web|title=ABC News Business|url=https://abcnews.go.com/business|website=ABC News|publisher=ABC News Internet Ventures}} She was host of the YouTube show "Free For All", about free products and services available to consumers. Leamy is the author of two books, Save BIG: Cut Your Top 5 Costs and Save Thousands (2010) and The Savvy Consumer: How to Avoid Scams and Rip-Offs That Cost You Time and Money (2004).
=Notable news reports=
In 1999, while at WTTG, Leamy broadcast an investigative story about a Washington, D.C., rave party called "Buzz". The story alleged that D.C. police officers working off-duty security for the party ignored drug use by patrons. The Washington City Paper criticized the story.{{cite news|title=Raving Mad|url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/17289/raving-mad|access-date=7 November 2014|publisher=Washington City Paper|date=14 May 1999}} Buzz was temporarily shut down and the owners later sued WTTG.
In 2006, Leamy investigated the herbal remedy "Airborne" for Good Morning America,{{cite news|title=Good Morning America: "Airborne" Cold Remedy Falls Flat|url=http://www.wkbw.com/archive/16218222.html|access-date=7 November 2014|publisher=WKBW|date=27 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107134412/http://www.wkbw.com/archive/16218222.html|archive-date=7 November 2014|url-status=dead}} questioning the company's clinical trial evidence and marketing claims. Two years later, Airborne settled a class action lawsuit and FTC charges, not admitting fault, but agreeing to refund consumers up to $30 million.{{cite news|last1=Barrett|first1=Kate|title=Airborne to Refund Consumers|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Health/ColdFlu/story?id=4380374|access-date=7 November 2014|work=ABC News|date=3 March 2008}}{{cite news|last1=Leamy|first1=Elisabeth|title=Deadline for Airborne Refund Is Days Away|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/PersonalFinance/Story?id=5686675&page=2|access-date=7 November 2014|work=ABC News|date=1 September 2008}}
In 2010, Leamy conducted an exclusive interview with President Barack Obama about the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.{{cite news|last1=Leamy|first1=Elisabeth|title=Exclusive: President Obama on Fin. Reg. Reform|url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/ConsumerNews/video/exclusive-president-obama-financial-regulation-reform-11234122|access-date=7 November 2014|publisher=ABC News Internet Ventures|date=23 July 2010}}
From 2011 to 2012, Leamy did a series of reports for Good Morning America called "Show Me the Money" which reunited people with unclaimed money held by the government totaling nearly $2 million.{{cite web|title=Unclaimed Money|url=https://gma.yahoo.com/unclaimed-money/|website=Yahoo – ABC News Network|publisher=Good Morning America Yahoo|access-date=7 November 2014}}
Leamy's story about a West Virginia Woman who was trying to collect a $10 million judgment from an abusive debt collector was ABC's most-trafficked web feature of 2012.{{cite news|last1=Leamy|first1=Elisabeth|title=W. Va. Woman Fights to Collect $10 Million from Debt Collectors|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/va-woman-fights-collect-10-million-debt-collectors/story?id=16205697|access-date=7 November 2014|work=ABC News|date=25 April 2012}}{{cite news|last1=Lucey|first1=Bill|title=Most Viewed Online Stories of 2012: Survey Results|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-lucey/most-viewed-online-storie_b_2273626.html|access-date=7 November 2014|publisher=TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.|date=10 December 2012}}
In 2013, Leamy reported for The Dr. Oz Show that epidural steroid injections for back pain are not FDA approved and have caused injuries and deaths.{{cite news|last1=Leamy|first1=Elisabeth|title=An In-Depth Investigation: Epidural Steroid Injections|url=http://www.doctoroz.com/article/depth-investigation-epidural-steroid-injections|access-date=7 November 2014|publisher=Dr. Oz Show/Harpo|date=6 May 2013}}{{cite web|title=Epidural Steroid Injections, The Truth... Finally! / Part 2|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPieVQdXP58|website=YouTube| date=22 March 2014 |publisher=Dr. Oz|access-date=7 November 2014}}
Later that year, she reported that LASIK eye surgery had more serious side effects than first reported.{{cite news|title=Undercover Lasik Surgery Investigation|url=http://www.doctoroz.com/episode/undercover-lasik-surgery-investigation?video_id=2707101454001|access-date=7 November 2014|publisher=Dr. Oz Show|date=3 October 2013}}
In 2015, Leamy reported for The Dr. Oz Show that ten doctors who had called upon Columbia University to fire Dr. Oz had ties to the Genetically Modified Food industry.{{Cite news|url=http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2015/04/dr_oz_responds_to_critics_the_dr_oz_show_time_maga.html|title=N.J.'s Dr. Oz decries 'public shaming and bullying' from his critics|work=NJ.com|access-date=2018-02-01|language=en-US}} Dr. Oz has said that genetically modified food should be labeled as such.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thecut.com/2015/04/dr-oz-says-he-just-wants-to-label-gmo-foods.html|title=Dr. Oz Says He Just Wants to Label GMO Foods —That's Still Not a Great Idea|work=The Cut|access-date=2018-02-01|language=en}}
Personal life
Leamy is married to Kris Persinger, a financial planner, and they have a daughter.{{cite news|title=The Ticker: Leamy, Cosby, The Most…|url=http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/the-ticker-leamy-cosby-the-most_b12438|access-date=7 November 2014|publisher=Mediabistro|date=11 December 2006}} Her father is Patrick MacLeamy, Chairman of HOK, an architectural firm.{{cite web|title=Patrick MacLeamy|url=http://www.hok.com/people/patrick-macleamy/|website=HOK|access-date=7 November 2014}}
Awards
Leamy is the recipient of 13 Emmy awards and 4 Edward R. Murrow Awards. In 2001, she was a finalist for the Livingston Award for young journalists.{{cite web|title=Livingston Awards Names 2001 Finalists|url=http://www.umich.edu/~websvcs/projects/livingston/past/2001finalists.html|website=University of Michigan|access-date=7 November 2014}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|https://elisabethleamy.com/}}
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Category:American women television journalists
Category:20th-century American women journalists
Category:20th-century American journalists
Category:21st-century American women journalists
Category:21st-century American journalists
Category:Journalists from St. Louis
Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni
Category:Medill School of Journalism alumni
Category:20th-century American women