Shelly Leah Jamison aka Shelly Jamison (born 10 July 1962[1] is a former television news reporter, and current public official, from Phoenix, who appeared as a Playboy magazine cover model[2] and the sideline reporter on the 1989–1990 souped-up roller derby TV series RollerGames.
Jamison majored in broadcast journalism at Arizona State University. She worked as a news producer, reporter and occasional anchor on KTSP-TV (the current-day KSAZ-TV) in Phoenix, until she appeared clothed on the cover and nude inside the July 1989 issue of Playboy magazine.[3] In the accompanying article, she predicted that she would most likely be fired from KTSP. She rationalized that her pay for the appearance (over US$100,000) was more than five years' pay at the station: she did leave her job at the station after the magazine appearance.[4]
She was hired as a sideline reporter for RollerGames, a syndicated roller derby series aired during the 1989–90 television season,[5] after producers David Sams and Michael Miller saw her picture in a USA Today story about the controversial Playboy appearance.[6]
She joined the Phoenix Fire Department in 1998. She is a member of FEMA's Arizona Task Force One (AZ-TF1) and has deployed to numerous national disaster situations, becoming deputy fire chief.[7] Her broadcasting background has led her to become a department spokesperson.[8][9][10] She retired from the role in December 2023. [11]