Career at a glance
Nineteen years across newsrooms, a county council, and the Maryland General Assembly. Every clip below comes from one of these chapters.
- Founder and Principal ConsultantWatts Media & Consulting · Gaithersburg, MDMay 2026 to present
- Interim Chief of Staff and Director of CommunicationsDelegate Aaron M. Kaufman, Maryland House of DelegatesMarch 2026 to present
- Senior Director of CommunicationsPrince George's County CouncilJuly 2023 to March 2026
- Network CorrespondentABC News, Washington bureauFebruary to June 2023
- Investigative ReporterFOX 5 DC (WTTG)April 2016 to January 2023
- Reporter and Fill-in AnchorDenver7 (KMGH), DenverApril 2014 to April 2016
- Anchor and Investigative ReporterKRDO NewsChannel 13, Colorado SpringsDecember 2009 to December 2013
- ReporterKAPP-ABC, YakimaOctober 2007 to December 2009
Recognition
- Emmy Award, reporting, FOX 5 DC
- Edward R. Murrow Award, Siege on Democracy
- Associated Press Award, Siege on Democracy
- Associated Press Award, investigative reporting, KRDO
Education
- M.A., Broadcast Journalism, University of Southern California
- B.A., Electronic Media, George Washington University
Expertise
- Media and press relations
- Earned media and news placement
- Legislative communications
- Government and public affairs
- Crisis communications
- Coalition and stakeholder engagement
- Content strategy and development
- Constituent engagement
- Policy advocacy
The reporting, and the stories told since.
The coverage and content Lindsay has produced for the offices and campaigns she serves, followed by a selection of her investigations and podcast work from fifteen years in newsrooms.
The LEAD Act: four first-ever television placements.
Delegate Aaron Kaufman's office had never had a television placement. Lindsay built a constituent-facing media package that combined lawmaker access, affected families, and visuals, and timed it to the bill's movement through both chambers. The LEAD Act was signed into law and takes effect October 1, 2026.
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New bill would require training for first responders assisting people with disabilities (opens in a new tab)
March 25, 2026Three hours of training for 911 dispatchers and police on responding when a person with autism or dementia wanders. Delegate Kaufman on why the bill is personal for him.
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NBC4 Washington
'Tragedy prevention': Maryland bill aims to protect people with dementia, autism (opens in a new tab)
March 26, 2026The five-bill package covering caregiver resources, water mapping, tracking devices, and first responder training, with the delegate quoted on prevention.
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WJLA 7News
Maryland lawmakers advance LEAD Act to protect children who wander (opens in a new tab)
April 3, 2026The bipartisan package advances, inspired by a mother whose daughter wandered from a caregiver. Delegate Kaufman on non-apparent disabilities.
Honoring Military Trailblazers.
A Black History Month documentary scripted, produced, and distributed by Lindsay's team for the Prince George's County Council, honoring the county's military trailblazers. It aired on CTV and YouTube. Below it, social video and motion graphics produced for the 2026 campaigns.
Campaign and office content
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Campaign video
Social media video: Congresswoman April McClain Delaney (opens in a new tab)
2026 · Google DriveShort-form social video produced for the McClain Delaney congressional campaign.
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Campaign video
Social media video: Maryland Delegate Aaron Kaufman (opens in a new tab)
2026 · Google DriveShort-form social video produced for the delegate's office.
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Motion graphic
Moving graphic: Maryland Delegate Aaron Kaufman (opens in a new tab)
2026 · Google DriveAnimated graphic produced for social channels.
Links open the original outlet or file. Page images are clippings of the published stories, shown to identify the work and linked to the source. Outlet names and logos identify where the work appeared and do not imply endorsement.
Reporting that forced answers.
Seven years of investigative reporting across DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Her series on Prince George's County Public Schools began with staff claims that grades were being changed so failing students could graduate, and led to a state audit, a second audit ordered by the governor, and a statewide Inspector General for Maryland schools. Also here: months of pressure on Maryland's unemployment system during the pandemic, and a Fairfax County plea deal exposed through court transcripts.
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Prince George's County schools CEO denies any fraudulent effort to inflate graduation rate (opens in a new tab)
June 22, 2017Four board members alleged widespread corruption to boost the graduation rate. The CEO denied it at a contentious board meeting as teachers and parents rallied outside.
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Md. Gov. Hogan explains why he requested probe on grade fixing allegations against PGCPS (opens in a new tab)
June 26, 2017Four days after the first report, Governor Hogan called for an independent state investigation and promised whistleblowers protection from retaliation.
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Prince George's County Public Schools grade-fixing scandal: who knew what and when (opens in a new tab)
December 27, 2017Documents showed leadership knew about graduation eligibility problems through an internal audit in May 2016, months before publicly denying the allegations.
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More questionable, large raises exposed at Prince George's County Public Schools (opens in a new tab)
April 27, 2018Board members alleged the schools CEO approved raises that violated state law, including a secretary moved from $80,000 to more than $95,000 without board approval.
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FOX 5's Lindsay Watts continues to push for answers on Maryland's unemployment problem (opens in a new tab)
June 24, 2020More than two months of reporting on Marylanders waiting for benefits during the pandemic, while the governor declined local interview requests and appeared on national outlets.
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Transcript sheds new light on Fairfax Co. sex crimes case (opens in a new tab)
September 29, 2022Court transcripts obtained by Lindsay revealed why a man who confessed to molesting a child was offered a plea deal in Fairfax County.
Siege on Democracy
An eight-episode audio documentary on the January 6 attack on the Capitol, hosted and produced by Lindsay with photojournalist Van Applegate. It examines the police response, the lives lost, and the people charged, with the crew's own account of covering the riot inside and outside the building. Winner of a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award and an Associated Press award.
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Apple Podcasts
Siege on Democracy: the full series (opens in a new tab)
2021 · 8 episodesEvery episode, including interviews with Representative Jamie Raskin and former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
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Siege on Democracy: full interview with Rod Rosenstein (bonus episode) (opens in a new tab)
February 23, 2021An exclusive, wide-ranging interview on how Capitol rioters could be prosecuted, his time in the Trump administration and the child separation policy.
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FOX 5 team wins Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for 'Siege on Democracy' podcast (opens in a new tab)
May 27, 2022The award recognized Lindsay Watts, Mia Rosas, and Van Applegate for the series.
Watch the reporting.
Clips open on FOX 5 DC's site and play there.
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Lindsay Watts discusses Maryland's unemployment catastrophe (video, opens in a new tab)
June 25, 2020 · 4:18After months of reporting on frozen benefits and a governor declining interviews, Lindsay on what she found.
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Rod Rosenstein weighs in on the Capitol riot and the Trump DOJ (video, opens in a new tab)
February 2021The broadcast cut of Lindsay's exclusive interview with the former Deputy Attorney General.
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Investigation into allegations of fraud, grade-fixing in PGCPS to begin 'immediately' (video, opens in a new tab)
2017The state's investigation into Prince George's County schools begins, prompted by FOX 5's reporting.
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More questionable, large raises exposed at Prince George's County Public Schools (video, opens in a new tab)
April 2018The on-air report on central-office raises that board members said violated state law.
A series that changed state law.
At Denver7, Lindsay's reporting on medical cannabis access in schools prompted Colorado lawmakers to change the law, expanding access for children with epilepsy who need CBD treatment during the school day. Before Denver, she anchored and reported at KRDO NewsChannel 13 in Colorado Springs, where she won an Associated Press award for investigative reporting.
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Bill would require Colorado schools to allow medical cannabis on campus or lose state money (opens in a new tab)
Denver7 · by Lindsay WattsAfter a voluntary law saw no district change its zero-tolerance policy, a new bill inspired by a student with severe cerebral palsy would require schools to allow it.
