Meg Gatto
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Meg Gatto is an Edward R. Murrow award winning reporter and anchor. She joined the FOX 8 team in March 2011 and can be seen on FOX 8 Morning Edition.
Originally from a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Meg followed in the footsteps of her parents, moving to New Orleans to attend college. She graduated from Loyola University with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.
She knew at a young age she wanted to become a reporter and sought out numerous internships and opportunities to fulfill that dream. Along the way, she made lasting friendships that have helped her as her career progressed.
After a two year stint in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Meg made the move back to New Orleans.
Over the years, she’s covered a number of high profile stories including the mass shooting at Virginia Tech, the Danziger Bridge trial, BP oil spill and countless hurricanes.
Meg has been nominated for numerous Suncoast Regional Emmy awards and Louisiana Associated Press Awards. She’s also been recognized by the New Orleans Press Club for her work, including winning awards for breaking news story of the year and general news, among others.
She earned her regional Murrow award for an investigation into the New Orleans Police Department. In her spare time, Meg enjoys spending time with her husband and daughters while also volunteering with a number of non-profits that are near to her heart.
Updated: Nov. 23, 2022 at 10:40 PM CST
|By Meg Gatto
The former chief of the Jefferson Parish Fire Department, calls the Bellemont apartment complex a ticking timebomb. The owner of the Bellemont is a religious non-profit that’s racked up fines and code violations over the years. Now, the former chief, Dave Tibbetts, says not much has changed there after a heated meeting with the head of the non-profit.
Updated: Nov. 22, 2022 at 10:47 PM CST
|By Meg Gatto
The Bellemont Apartment Homes' property manager said evangelist Richard Hamlet and his son Lucian are intimately involved with the Metairie complex’s operations
Updated: Nov. 14, 2022 at 10:07 PM CST
|By Meg Gatto
A religious nonprofit that owns local apartment complexes and pays no property tax is making millions of dollars in revenue every year.
Updated: Nov. 3, 2022 at 10:52 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
The New Orleans City Council just passed an ordinance that strengthens protections for renters across the city while calling for periodic inspections of rental properties.
Updated: Oct. 21, 2022 at 4:54 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
Doctors say they're seeing spikes in the number of people infected much earlier than in past years.
Updated: Oct. 14, 2022 at 5:04 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
The woman first spoke to FOX 8 in May, complaining about the nightly crime here and what she described as mold in her home and caving walls.
Updated: Oct. 6, 2022 at 10:31 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
The West Bank man who lured a New Orleans real estate agent to his home, promising to buy a dirt bike, before killing him, will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Updated: Oct. 3, 2022 at 10:33 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
Councilman Freddie King says some conditions at Parc Fontaine are unacceptable
Updated: Sep. 26, 2022 at 10:32 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
Residents at an Algiers apartment complex reach out to FOX 8, begging for help, saying they're living in squalor. One of the owners of Parc Fontaine is Global Ministries Foundation, the same religious non-profit that FOX 8 revealed, owns The Willows in New Orleans East, which was full of mold, and trash and which residents told us was unsafe.
Updated: Sep. 20, 2022 at 11:17 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
A war veteran says he was scammed by an appliance repairman who was the subject of a number of Fox 8 Defenders reports.
Updated: Aug. 10, 2022 at 10:57 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
The city said it is aware of the condition of the pool and will continue to take appropriate enforcement action against the property until the owner complies with the municipal code.
Updated: Jul. 25, 2022 at 11:24 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reached out to Fox 8 for help in its investigation into whole home generators.
Updated: Jul. 13, 2022 at 10:59 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
A New Orleans city councilman wants a stiffer punishment by code enforcement against the owner of The Willows apartment complex. The non-profit owner of the site still owes money from a code enforcement hearing two years ago.
Updated: Jul. 7, 2022 at 10:05 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
In an idyllic Venetian Isles neighborhood on the outskirts of New Orleans, some neighbors say they’re at their wits end.
Updated: Jul. 2, 2022 at 10:03 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the crowd at Essence Fest Saturday, for the first time as VP. Harris telling the attendees to use their voices as the country faces the fallout from the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe V. Wade.
Updated: Jul. 1, 2022 at 9:01 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
The Willows apartment complex in New Orleans East has stepped up security measures after residents told us they were terrified to live there.
Updated: Jun. 21, 2022 at 6:04 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
Beginning next year, homes in Louisiana will be required to have a working carbon monoxide detector. It also says that any home that has a generator installed after the new year must have a carbon monoxide detector.
Updated: Jun. 18, 2022 at 6:13 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
A federal judge will redraw the state’s congressional map after state lawmakers abruptly ended a special session two days early.
Updated: Jun. 2, 2022 at 10:01 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
After a surprise visit, code enforcement inspectors have found almost a dozen violations of city code at The Willows apartment complex in New Orleans East.
Updated: Jun. 2, 2022 at 6:58 AM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
As New Orleans code enforcement inspectors show up at The Willows, the CEO of the non-profit that owns the complex called us to give his side of the story.
Updated: May. 25, 2022 at 10:51 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
Our first investigation revealed the issues at The Willows, with residents saying the conditions are unlivable so Helena Moreno wanted to see for herself.
Updated: May. 25, 2022 at 1:30 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
Years of neglect, near nightly shootings and overwhelming filth. That's what some terrified New Orleans East neighbors say they've been dealing with at their apartment complex and it's who owns the complex that may surprise you.
Updated: May. 20, 2022 at 10:05 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
People say the pothole at the corner of Carrollton and Cohn, big enough to stand in, is frustrating and annoying.
Updated: May. 18, 2022 at 10:17 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
“When you hear that your kid has cancer, the first thing you think of is ‘oh my gosh, is she going to make it, am I going to see her get married? Am I going to see her graduate?’ All that runs through your head."
Updated: May. 12, 2022 at 11:05 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
Carjackings, armed robberies, and murders are happening at an alarming rate in New Orleans and sometimes the crimes can have more than just physical ramifications.
Updated: Apr. 27, 2022 at 12:57 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto and Ken Daley
Paul Noel, a 25-year veteran of the New Orleans Police Department, is expected to be named the new police chief in Knoxville, Tenn.
Updated: Apr. 4, 2022 at 5:36 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
Two weeks after Linda Frickey, 73, was dragged to death in a brutal Mid City carjacking, her family is preparing to meet with the district attorney’s office and they are looking for answers.
Updated: Feb. 28, 2022 at 11:40 AM CST
|By Meg Gatto
James Reiss and Elinor White will serve as esteemed Carnival royalty Tuesday.
Updated: Feb. 17, 2022 at 5:37 AM CST
|By Meg Gatto
A mother’s love knows no bounds. After receiving the surprise of a lifetime, one Northshore mom decided to dedicate her time to helping others. And it all begins in the gym.
Updated: Jan. 13, 2022 at 6:34 PM CST
|By Meg Gatto
Thunder the Boy Wonder was returned to his owner after thieves snatched him 10 days ago.
Updated: Nov. 23, 2021 at 10:37 PM CST
|By Meg Gatto
A state representative wants to pass a new law to keep people safe from carbon monoxide, after our reports exposed how alarming levels of the odorless, colorless gas got into people's homes following Hurricane Ida.
Updated: Nov. 11, 2021 at 11:36 PM CST
|By Meg Gatto
The man in charge of permits for St. Tammany Parish wants to change parish law, to protect homeowners from dangerous carbon monoxide gases, after we detailed the problems following Hurricane Ida. Now, more people tell us they too had the dangerous chemicals seep into their homes.
Updated: Nov. 1, 2021 at 10:40 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
Reports of dangerous levels of carbon monoxide inside homes after Hurricane Ida prompts Jefferson Parish to conduct a safety study of whole house generators. While the equipment proved convenient for thousands of people without power, others say, the fumes nearly cost them their lives.
Updated: Aug. 17, 2021 at 10:57 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
A Baton Rouge woman is on a mission to get people vaccinated against Covid-19. For Carla Brown, this mission, is personal, saving lives.
Updated: May. 26, 2021 at 10:49 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
A couple in town for a convention says they woke up to find a burglar inside their Marriott hotel room over the weekend.
Updated: Apr. 28, 2021 at 6:28 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
Neighbors call a sidewalk repair project in the French Quarter, a nightmare. In a FOX 8 Defenders report, they explain why they’re so upset as the work has halted with huge holes left behind.
Updated: Feb. 10, 2021 at 9:45 PM CST
|By Meg Gatto
A chance call five months ago changed the lives of two Northshore families.
Updated: Dec. 10, 2020 at 5:21 AM CST
|By Meg Gatto
A Mount Carmel and LSU grad is within reach of beating out some 20,000 other people to be declared the greatest baker. Baleigh Callaghan credits the power of social media and a creative mind, for helping her get this far.
Updated: Nov. 26, 2020 at 9:42 AM CST
|By Meg Gatto
On this holiday, one local family is extra thankful.
Updated: Nov. 26, 2020 at 9:26 AM CST
|By Meg Gatto
While the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc on many businesses, some are actually thriving right now. Whether it’s because they’ve got a commodity that people want or they’ve adjusted their business model to fit this new world, they’re making it work.
Updated: Nov. 23, 2020 at 9:15 PM CST
|By Meg Gatto
When the pandemic began, it threatened a critical lifeline for so many seniors in our area. But thanks to a special group of people, the elderly didn't go hungry.
Updated: Oct. 7, 2020 at 2:48 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
The Jefferson Parish nine-year-old who was suspended from school for having a BB gun in his home, testified before lawmakers in Baton Rouge Wednesday morning.
Updated: Oct. 6, 2020 at 6:44 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
Vandals cause thousands of dollars worth of damage at City Park
Updated: Aug. 7, 2020 at 8:24 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
As COVID-19 cases across New Orleans continue to rise, the city’s 311 helpline to report non-compliant businesses, is slammed.
Updated: Jul. 25, 2020 at 8:30 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
With the announcement that Orleans District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro is retiring, focus now shifts to the four candidates who qualified to take over his seat.With just 100 days until election day, FOX 8 political analyst Mike Sherman says the race is about to heat up, quickly.
Updated: Jul. 18, 2020 at 7:10 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
He’s known for his skills on the trumpet but now, musician Shamarr Allen is lending his talents in another way, trying to stop the violence that plagues New Orleans streets.
Updated: Jun. 26, 2020 at 5:19 AM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
93-year-old Blaine Kern has died. Kern founded "Blaine Kern Artists", responsible for designing, building and staging most of the region's largest carnival parades.
Updated: Apr. 20, 2020 at 6:33 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
Airbnb is teaming up with the City of New Orleans to house medical workers and other essential personnel so they can self-isolate from their families during the pandemic.
Updated: Apr. 17, 2020 at 5:46 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto and Chris Finch
Ochsner Health System expects to take a large financial hit because of the coronavirus, according to CEO Warner Thomas.
Updated: Mar. 25, 2020 at 2:03 PM CDT
|By Meg Gatto
More than 300 Ochsner employees are in quarantine right now with 50 of them testing positive for COVID-19.
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