TV anchor charged with DUI in Starkville
September 13, 2012
By NATHAN GREGORY
citybeat@starkvilledailynews.com
A veteran news anchor and health reporter for a Jackson television station was arrested Sept. 8 in Oktibbeha County on a DUI charge and a charge of disorderly conduct, Mississippi Highway Patrol spokesman Criss Turnipseed confirmed Thursday.
Turnipseed said one of his troopers arrested Stephanie Bell Flynt, 50, early Saturday morning on Miss. Highway 182. According to the Oktibbeha County arrest report for the week of Sept. 3-9, she was booked at 1:31 a.m.
When contacted, Flynt would not say whether she planned to contest the charge but said she would have to “talk to her supervisors” before commenting on the arrest. Flynt made no further comments as of press time.
Flynt is a long-time on-air personality with WLBT. According to her biography on WLBT’s website, Flynt began working for the network in 1986 and anchors the station’s noon news cast. She also covers “Medical Matters,” a regular segment on WLBT news programming. She has occasionally reported on the dangers of drinking and driving in the segment.
The DUI charge is listed as her first in the arrest report.
According to her online biography, she was recently awarded a fellowship from the Association of Health Care Journalists, which allows her to train with the most well-regarded health care journalists in the United States.
