Troy Hayden is a multiple Emmy award-winning journalist for 12News with more than three decades of anchoring and reporting experience in Arizona.
He’s anchored top-rated newscasts in the valley since 1994, and his reporting has covered a vast number of issues during that time.
He became known to a national audience during the Jodi Arias murder trial, providing months of local and national coverage, including an exclusive interview with Arias just minutes after her guilty verdict that aired internationally.
Training with the Phoenix Fire Department has taken him in full turnouts with firefighters into 1,100-degree fires to explain fire suppression strategies.
He is an advanced scuba diver and has conducted operations with underwater and swift water search and rescue teams, including taking the point position on a body recovery with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Dive Team.
Work at the U.S. border took him more than 100 feet underground to exclusively explore the deepest drug tunnel ever found at the time by the US Border Patrol. He also exclusively visited drug cartel mountain top lookouts in the Vekol Valley, just as those who manned the lookouts fled, providing insights into how drug traffickers were operating.
Troy gained exclusive access to the war room of former governor Doug Ducey on the night he was re-elected to office in 2018, capturing him being given the news he won the election, and also the first interview after that win.
Military coverage allowed Troy to take the controls of an F-16 fighter jet over the Barry Goldwater bombing range in an 8-G training flight (he lost his breakfast, but not consciousness). He also spent three days out to sea on the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and dove 650 feet below the ocean's surface on the USS Ohio nuclear submarine, telling the stories of the sailors on board both ships.
Troy’s work in the criminal justice system led to him witnessing four executions as Arizona struggled with drug mixes to carry out that ultimate sentence. He also gave viewers an exclusive tour of Arizona’s “Death House” to explain how executions take place. It was the first time TV cameras were allowed in the area in 20 years. He covered two of the highest-profile murder trials in recent Arizona history in
person gavel to gavel, the trials of Brian Eftenoff and Jodi Arias.
He has reported live from the Democratic National Convention, the Cape Canaveral launch of the space shuttle Discovery, two World Series and five Super Bowls. He spelunked deep into one of Arizona’s most famous cave systems, the Grand Canyon Caverns, covering the discovery of a brand new microbial species hundreds of feet below ground.
Troy's work has been recognized with numerous professional awards. He’s won 11 Emmy awards, including 5 straight Emmys as “Best Anchor.” He has been named "Anchor of the Year" by the Associated Press, "Best 10 p.m. Anchor" by Phoenix Magazine, "Best Live Reporter" by the Phoenix New Times, and was given the "Media Excellence" award by the Phoenix Fire Department.
Troy’s volunteer work has taken him to Africa, Asia, and Central America where he’s studied and worked with endangered animal species… especially giraffes. He raises money for, and travels with, the group Save Giraffes Now.
When he’s not working, Troy enjoys camping, hiking, scuba diving, playing guitar, reading, and especially spending time with his wife Kristy and their children.