Today we’d like to introduce you to Elliott Davis
Hi Elliott, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I grew up in the inner city of St. Louis near Pruitt Igoe Housing projects. I went from terrible housing projects in the city and then graduated from inner city high school called Vashon high school then went to Cornell University, anIvy League school in Ithaca New York. When I graduated I bounced around amongst various jobs, and ultimately decided that I wanted to do something where I could use my voice. I was unemployed at the time actually, living with my mom. I walked into a TV station and said I wanted to talk to the Person In Charge. They introduced me to the program Director after what turned into a three hour interview, six months later I got a letter asking if I wanted to host a talk show. I was there about a year. I left there because I wanted to be a reporter and I went Fox 2. I was able to connect with the news director – Cecil Tuck. Tuck said I could follow around and shadow the reporters and producers and learn what I could. In the meantime, I was writing for black newspaper called the Crusader, writing a political column. I had plenty of political contacts. I was able to bringing pretty big stories. After that, I got hired part time then came up with the idea of doing a story about Prostitutes on the stroll in The Central West End. We were able to get interviews with the prostitutes out on the street, that turned into a weeklong series called “Sex on the Stroll”. It was a ratings winner! I got a hired full-time as a reporter. Then a new News Director came and he wanted to do a series called “YouPaid For It” on government waste. Nobody else wanted to do it, but I was doing investigative reporting so I volunteered to do it. It really caught on with the viewers and gave us a way to really help people and really get to the bottom of folks having trouble with government. The franchise got to be the biggest franchise in the city of St. Louis.
Since 2017, I’ve embraced the power of social media to expand the reach of important stories like the struggles of the homeless in St. Louis. From that I grew my Facebook page from 5,000 followers to 170,000 followers.
The latest thing is that I’ve retired after 45 years of being an investigative reporter at Fox 2 News.
In retirement I am still exploring social media to cover hard hitting stories that affect our community. I am connecting with the people by sharing stories and responding to their input as well.
After 45 years of investigative reporting, I am still covering the news on social media and living my best life!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road has not been all that smooth. First, I couldn’t find a job when I got out of Cornell University – graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in political science. I ended up working in a factory loading railroad box cars because I had no experience in journalism. It was kind of rocky from the start because I had to learn what to do from scratch. Several times where my efforts fell short I was on the verge of getting thrown out the door. I’ve gone through one divorce which sometimes made working a trial, but all in all I was able to overcome all the obstacles and succeeded in the business of journalism. One of the most critical aspects of my life is my faith which has gotten me through all of life’s obstacles.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
After 45 years as an investigative journalist working for a prominent St. Louis News station – I’ve decided to try my hand in retirement. In retirement – I’ve stayed up with my investigations – keeping on top of the city’s government decisions and supporting the less fortunate as God has intended. I feel blessed to be able to continue telling the citizens of St. Louis’ stories and reporting on the status of our beloved city.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elliottdavistv/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElliottDavisTV/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ElliottDavisTV
