Leyla Gulen joined FOX 24 Charleston in January 2016. She is the Host and Executive Producer for FOX 24 News Now Midday and FOX 24 News Now at 11pm.
Before landing in Charleston, Leyla was the morning traffic/weather anchor and feature reporter for ABC7 in San Francisco. Covering the nation’s #3 most congested region, she helped viewers navigate around millions of commuters every day. During her tenure she covered major stories, including two BART strikes that crippled the commute for hundreds of thousands of Bay Area mass transit riders, the Bay Bridge closure and opening of the new span, and the newly constructed tunnels connecting San Francisco and the famous Golden Gate Bridge. As a feature reporter, she interviewed celebrities and extraordinary citizens, alike, in one of the country’s most beautiful, dynamic and diverse cities.
Before joining ABC, Leyla worked as a freelance traffic anchor and reporter for CBS television in Los Angeles, her hometown. In sunny Southern California, she made the foray from radio into television having worked as an editor, reporter, producer, and writer at Los Angeles’ CBS newsradio stations, KNX1070 Newsradio and KFWB News980. It was the latter where she won a Golden Mike for Best Radio Live Coverage for the “Metrolink Crash.”
A graduate of the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School with a bachelor’s degree in Print Journalism, Leyla was always kept on her toes….in a different way. For nearly 20 years, she was a ballet dancer, having trained at the prestigious School of American Ballet in New York City. Before being accepted into their yearly program at 16, Leyla trained at other intensive ballet programs including the Joffrey Ballet, the San Francisco Ballet and the Rock School of the Pennsylvania Ballet.
In her spare time, her passion is to travel and explore different cultures. And, having grown up in the restaurant industry, she celebrates the culinary arts and has a deep appreciation for the industry.
Leyla is proud to be part of the Lowcountry. Its warm spirit, rich history and beautiful surroundings make it a unique and special place to call home.
She also likes making new friends, so feel free to contact her via Twitter and Facebook. If you have a story you want to pitch, she’s always looking to learn something new.
