Lori Brown

"Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman," said former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis.  

It’s a simple sentence that sums up my duty as a journalist. We’re here to shine a light on problems that need to be solved.

Since joining Fox 4 in 2015, it's been gratifying to see the many results of our stories that helped right wrongs.

In December 2023, our Fox 4 Investigation uncovered the North Texas Crime Stopper’s program was not keeping track of basic information about how reward money was used, leaving it ripe for waste, fraud, and abuse, according to a former federal investigator. 

Our investigation into the organization, began in July, after a Dallas couple was denied a reward from North Texas Crime Stoppers, one of the hundreds of certified programs like it in the state.  The couple had led police to a fugitive wanted for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 7-year-old girl. A Fox 4 viewer stepped up to provide the reward, and then the organization also provided the reward, after our continued coverage. 

One of the most difficult stories to cover was the mass shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets, May 6, 2023. The child who lost his family in the shooting attended Prestonwood Christian Academy, which is part of my church family. 

One of the major issues in 2023 was the extensive debate about short-term rentals in Dallas and Plano, as the community mobilized asking the cities to preserve single-family neighborhoods. In September 2022, we broke the story of the arrests of two women accused of operating a brothel out of a short-term rental in Plano. 

One of the more disturbing stories I’ve covered was the arrest of a doctor connected with tainted IV bags at Baylor Scott and White Surgery Center in September 2022. In an emotional interview, we spoke with the widower of a doctor who died after treating herself with one of the IV bags. We also had an exclusive interview with the grandfather of a young victim who had to be rushed to the ER after receiving fluid from a tainted IV bag. Our open records requests also revealed Dr. Raynaldo Ortiz had a history of domestic abuse and animal abuse. We also learned the surgery center still sent one of the victim’s insurance company a $13,000 bill. 

In August 2022, we investigated RJ Construction, an Arlington-based company that took hundreds of thousands of dollars from homeowners to rebuild and renovate homes but never completed the work. Our investigation showed that the owner, Robert Jordan, took some of the money even after it was clear he planned to file for bankruptcy. 

During the historic 2021 Winter Storm we gave a voice to residents forced to fill up buckets of water at a fire hydrant because the water at their complex had been shut off for days. We also got results for other residents without power or water for five days, yet their apartment complexes were not providing any alternatives while they waited for their pipes to be repaired. 

Early in the pandemic, we helped many who waited months to get unemployment checks that they needed to pay their bills. The delays were the result of widespread fraud plaguing an overloaded system. Two state lawmakers were among those whose names were fraudulently used to file claims. Legislative reforms were later made to help improve the system.

An investigation in 2019 exposed an alarming new apartment towing practice, that left apartment residents feeling targeted. Our investigation showed viewers how they can challenge illegal tows.

In 2017 we exposed a broken system within Dallas Animal Services that was failing to investigate and prosecute animal abuse cases in Dallas. The investigation featured dozens of unsolved cases involving dead animals, including one with a dog whose throat was deeply cut, yet no one agency was tracking the cases. Out of 4,000 reports of cruelty, only 11 made it to the District Attorney for prosecution. Since the investigation, the Dallas Police Department has added an animal cruelty unit. The story was honored with awards from the National Press Club and Dallas Bar Association.

It was eye-opening to report on the devastation left behind in Houston after Hurricane Harvey in 2017, but it was also inspiring to see the grit and generosity of Texans in the wake of the storm.

Before moving back to my home state of Texas, I was a reporter at WFTV-TV in Orlando, Florida. While there, many of my reports focused on areas where the government could better serve its citizens, while not wasting tax dollars. One report exposed that the city gave a company $1,000,000 tax dollars to build a development that it never built. 

Another investigation revealed how easy it was to buy illegal drugs right off the shelves at an Orange County store. After our report, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office raided the store, and pressed charges against the owner. 

Before Orlando, I was a reporter for WMC-TV in Memphis, Tennessee, and KCOY-TV, in Santa Barbara County, California.

I received a degree in Broadcast Journalism and Political Science from the University of Southern California. Fight On Trojans!

I’m married to my college sweetheart. He shares my passion for crunching numbers and wading through budgets and public expense reports. At this writing in January 2023, we have a 9-year-old son, and three daughters ages 7, 4, and 2. We love going to Church as a family, spending time at the Dallas Arboretum, and taking vacations at the beach or the mountains. We also love cheering on the Rangers, Mavs, Cowboys, and of course our USC Trojans! But the greatest show is watching our kids do what they love best: play basketball, soccer, and baseball; sing, dance, and cartwheel; color masterpieces; and beat me at chess.