Iowa TV news reporter Nora J.S Reichardt comes out as transgender on air

An Iowa news reporter has come out as a transgender woman during her local newscast.

Nora J.S Reichardt, a multi-skilled journalist for Local 5 News in Des Moines, Iowa, re-introduced herself to the community on the same day she legally changed her name.

“I didn’t know if there was a place and a space for me to do this sort of work that I’ve really come to love and enjoy, while also getting to be myself while I do it,” she said during her segment.

The 24-year-old explained that she had thought about her gender identity since high school, but growing up in a rural area and with society not being as open with gender as it is today, she was unable to even find the words to express her feelings.

Reichardt says that she realized something was wrong after she started working as a reporter and didn’t “connect” with the person on the screen.

She began hormonal treatments and the medical transition in Sept. 2021.

“There was a decent span of time where everyone in my life functionally knew me as Nora, except for the viewers at home,” Reichardt said.

Reichardt stepped away from work before making her announcement to the viewers at home to ensure she could accomplish everything she wanted to for the transition before returning and breaking the news.

“It’s hard to describe how it feels to finally share that,” Reichardt said on Twitter. “For a long time, my own body felt foreign and wrong to me, and transitioning has been the first time I’ve felt like myself in my 24 years of life.”

She added that she’s the person she was before but now is noticeably happier, not just from her recognition but also to the people in her life.

According to News 5’s website, Reichardt attended Drake University, where she graduated with degrees in news and sociology.

ESPN journalist M.A. Voepel announced on Twitter in August about his transition and that he would use male pronouns from then on.