By Frank Macek
A new face has joined the WKYC newsroom, and I think viewers are really going to like her. Kristen Mirand is her name, and she comes to Cleveland after spending the last few years in Buffalo, where she worked as a reporter and anchor at WKBW, the station in her hometown.
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| Kristen Mirand |
A new face has joined the WKYC newsroom, and I think viewers are really going to like her. Kristen Mirand is her name, and she comes to Cleveland after spending the last few years in Buffalo, where she worked as a reporter and anchor at WKBW, the station in her hometown.
It’s always special when a journalist gets to cover the community that raised them, but Kristen is ready for a new challenge and new stories here in Northeast Ohio.
Kristen has already built a reputation as a reporter who doesn’t shy away from tough stories. In Buffalo, she was trusted with breaking news coverage, and her work showed a clear comfort with being on the front lines when the big stories happened. Before returning home, she spent two years in Lynchburg, Virginia, working for WSET, where she covered a wide range of local issues. That role gave her the kind of foundation every journalist needs early in their career: a chance to learn how to juggle everything from crime and community stories to local politics.
She’s also a proud graduate of Ithaca College’s Roy H. Park School of Communications, one of the region’s best-known training grounds for broadcast journalists. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in journalism and a minor in sociology, and those academic roots helped launch her into the fast-moving world of local TV news. At Ithaca, the emphasis is always on getting out in the field, learning to shoot, edit, write, and report all at once, and Kristen clearly carried those skills into her first jobs. Today, she’s what the industry calls an MSJ—a multimedia journalist—able to handle all sides of storytelling from start to finish.
Coming from Buffalo, Kristen isn’t stepping into totally unfamiliar territory. Cleveland and Buffalo share a lot in common: both are lakefront cities with proud working-class traditions, both have faced ups and downs economically, and both are fiercely loyal to their sports teams. That makes her transition into this market feel like a natural step. Audiences here will likely find her relatable right away, because she understands the character and resilience of a Great Lakes city.
What stands out most, though, isn’t just the résumé—it’s the way she approaches the work. Kristen takes journalism seriously, with a focus on accuracy, fairness, and community connection. Her range, from anchoring in the studio to reporting live in the field, gives her the ability to build trust with viewers and deliver the kind of storytelling people expect from local news.
Cleveland is often considered a proving ground for journalists, a city where you can cover nationally significant stories while staying rooted in the community. Reporters who succeed here often go on to even bigger markets, but that doesn’t take away from how important the work is while they’re here. For Kristen, this move is a chance to grow, to learn the ins and outs of a new community, and to make her mark at one of the Midwest’s most respected newsrooms.
Local news today demands a lot of its journalists. It’s not enough to simply stand in front of a camera; you have to write, shoot, edit, post to digital platforms, and engage with audiences in real time. Kristen has already proven she can do all of that, and her addition to the team strengthens WKYC’s ability to keep up with the fast pace of news in 2025.
In the end, Kristen Mirand’s arrival is about more than just filling a role. It’s about bringing in another journalist who is committed to telling stories that matter, someone who’s earned her experience in two different markets and is ready for the next step. For viewers, it’s an opportunity to welcome a new face, follow her work, and watch as she settles into Cleveland life.
So, join me in welcoming Kristen Mirand to WKYC Studios. She may be new to town, but she’s already bringing with her the experience, energy, and dedication that local journalism needs.
Kristen has already built a reputation as a reporter who doesn’t shy away from tough stories. In Buffalo, she was trusted with breaking news coverage, and her work showed a clear comfort with being on the front lines when the big stories happened. Before returning home, she spent two years in Lynchburg, Virginia, working for WSET, where she covered a wide range of local issues. That role gave her the kind of foundation every journalist needs early in their career: a chance to learn how to juggle everything from crime and community stories to local politics.
She’s also a proud graduate of Ithaca College’s Roy H. Park School of Communications, one of the region’s best-known training grounds for broadcast journalists. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in journalism and a minor in sociology, and those academic roots helped launch her into the fast-moving world of local TV news. At Ithaca, the emphasis is always on getting out in the field, learning to shoot, edit, write, and report all at once, and Kristen clearly carried those skills into her first jobs. Today, she’s what the industry calls an MSJ—a multimedia journalist—able to handle all sides of storytelling from start to finish.
Coming from Buffalo, Kristen isn’t stepping into totally unfamiliar territory. Cleveland and Buffalo share a lot in common: both are lakefront cities with proud working-class traditions, both have faced ups and downs economically, and both are fiercely loyal to their sports teams. That makes her transition into this market feel like a natural step. Audiences here will likely find her relatable right away, because she understands the character and resilience of a Great Lakes city.
What stands out most, though, isn’t just the résumé—it’s the way she approaches the work. Kristen takes journalism seriously, with a focus on accuracy, fairness, and community connection. Her range, from anchoring in the studio to reporting live in the field, gives her the ability to build trust with viewers and deliver the kind of storytelling people expect from local news.
Cleveland is often considered a proving ground for journalists, a city where you can cover nationally significant stories while staying rooted in the community. Reporters who succeed here often go on to even bigger markets, but that doesn’t take away from how important the work is while they’re here. For Kristen, this move is a chance to grow, to learn the ins and outs of a new community, and to make her mark at one of the Midwest’s most respected newsrooms.
Local news today demands a lot of its journalists. It’s not enough to simply stand in front of a camera; you have to write, shoot, edit, post to digital platforms, and engage with audiences in real time. Kristen has already proven she can do all of that, and her addition to the team strengthens WKYC’s ability to keep up with the fast pace of news in 2025.
In the end, Kristen Mirand’s arrival is about more than just filling a role. It’s about bringing in another journalist who is committed to telling stories that matter, someone who’s earned her experience in two different markets and is ready for the next step. For viewers, it’s an opportunity to welcome a new face, follow her work, and watch as she settles into Cleveland life.
So, join me in welcoming Kristen Mirand to WKYC Studios. She may be new to town, but she’s already bringing with her the experience, energy, and dedication that local journalism needs.