Tammy Leitner was born in San Diego, earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a master's degree in journalism from Boston University. Leitner has worked as a newspaper crime reporter for the last five years. She has written for newspapers in New York and Arizona, including the New York Post.
Proving she'll do anything to get a story, Leitner had herself arrested and spent time in a New York jail for a first-person account on life behing bars. Another time she burst into a burning building and, once worked as a member of a NASCAR pit crew.
Leitner has earned multiple awards in Arizona and New York for crime reporting, including Arizona Press Club Awards for coverage of a serial rapist, the Arizona angle on the terrorist attacks, and legendary mob informant Sammy "The Bull" Gravano's arrest in Arizona. In 1999, Leitner was honored by the City of Scottsdale for saving a drowning man.
In 2002 she was a cast member on the hit CBS reality show "Survivor: Marquesas." Leitner's hobbies include running, biking, lifting weights, kickboxing, camping, photography and traveling.
Survivor Skills: How is life after Survivor, especially now that Survivor Thailand is half way
through it's season, is some of the spotlight taken off of you?
Tammy: To be honest, I get recognized more now than when the show was on. I think a
lot of that has to do with my new job as a crime reporter in Phoenix. KPHO,
the CBS affiliate I work for, has been very supportive and running promo ads
that focus both on my Survivor experience and my crime reporting background.
So, at least in Arizona, that has made me a little more recognizable. To be
honest, you get so dirty and hairy and skinny on the island that you don't
really look like you do in everyday life. So I think people are getting to
see what I really look like on the TV news.
Survivor Skills: Any funny or strange survivor fan story or experience?
Tammy: I was interviewing neighbors at a crime scene the other day and the woman I
was interviewing kept smiling. I thought it was odd because a horrendous
crime had just occurred there and she couldn't stop smiling. Finally, she
stopped in the middle of the interview and said, “I just have to tell you, we
thought you did great on Survivor and should have won.” That was pretty funny.
Survivor Skills: How is the new job at KPHO-TV in Phoenix?
Tammy: I love it. The people I work with have been very supportive as I've made the
transition from print journalism to broadcast journalism. I definitely made
the right decision and love the job
Survivor Skills: Being the stations crime reporter did you travel to the Washington D.C. area
to cover the sniper story?
Tammy: No. We did a little local coverage, but used freelance reporters who work out
of Washington for our live coverage.
Survivor Skills: Congratulations on your wedding, with your new job keeping you so busy has it been hard to spend time
with your new husband?
Tammy: The wedding was a blast and I was thankful that so many cast members were
able to attend. My husband and I have been together for almost five years and
have had to work through a lot of obstacles before. So even though the job
takes up a lot of time, we just make sure we make our time together count. We
really have a lot of fun together. Not only is Mike my husband, but he's my
best friend, too.
Survivor Skills: What advice would you give to someone trying out for Survivor? What advice to
win?
Tammy: You have to remember that casting directors see thousands of audition tapes.
The worst thing you can do is sit in front of the camera and say, “My name is
John and I live in Arizona and I have a wife, two kids and a dog.” That
doesn't tell them anything special about you. Let your audition tape reflect
YOU - your personality, what quality you have that makes you a good cast
member. If it's that everyone thinks you're obnoxious, don't be afraid to
show it. They're not looking for actors, they're looking for 16 Type A
personalities that are not afraid to mix it up and make good TV.
To win, my advice is to NOT paint a target on your back like the Rotu 4 did
on Survivor: Marquesas. The mistake we made was not having a strong fifth
person in our alliance. So my advice would be to quietly work your way into a
five person alliance and hope you can beat the other four when it comes down
to the end. But it's hard to be both a good TV character and win the million
dollars. If you're too outspoken, like Boston Rob or Arizona Robb, you become
a target. You're good TV, but you're not going to win.
Survivor Skills: Finally, what does the future hold for Tammy Leitner? Do you want to remain
in the news industry, stay in Phoenix or perhaps move to L.A. or N.Y.C?
Tammy: I've never wanted to do anything else but be a crime reporter, so I will stay
doing this. I love my job right now and wouldn't change a thing. If
opportunities came up with a national news magazine show like 48 Hours or
Dateline on Court TV, I'd consider a move. But I will definitely stay in
journalism.
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