Forrest Sanders is a solo video journalist at NewsChannel 5.
Forrest is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and started his career at WBKO in Bowling Green, KY. He's covered the stories of Nashville since 2009. He’s the recipient of 38 Emmy Awards for work he wrote, shot and edited. He is an active member and strong proponent of the National Press Photographers Association. He was named NPPA’s national Solo Video Journalist of the Year in the quarterly contest twice. He was named national Solo Video Journalist of the Year in NPPA's Best of Photography competition in 2022, 2023, and 2024. He's a three-time runner-up for the national Ernie Crisp Photographer of the Year. He's part of the faculty for NPPA's News Video Workshop, a week-long annual bootcamp teaching photography, editing, and writing to journalists.
Forrest believes in visual, emotion-driven storytelling that emphasizes the uniqueness of the person and situation at the center of the story. A somewhat unconventional path to news, Forrest decided he wanted to write, shoot and edit stories after watching 'The Evil Dead' in high school (it's a long story). He thanks the Kentucky News Photographers Association for arranging for the governor to officially bestow him the title of ‘Kentucky Colonel.’ This designation has made him, yes, Colonel Sanders.
