By Kate Bartlett
Former Channel 2 News anchor Kate Welshofer left her career of 27 years in broadcast journalism to pursue her passions with different creative outlets. In 2024, she signed on with the National Comedy Center in Jamestown as their Communications and Content Specialist. With humor and positivity having always been a major part of Kate’s life, this career change was a good fit.
Growing up in Perry, NY, Kate wasn’t quite sure where her path would lead. “I came from a family of teachers,” recalls Kate. “I knew I wanted to go to college, but not having a specific career in mind, I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to study.”
Kate eventually entered the Journalism/Mass Communication program at St. Bonaventure University. An internship requirement for her major led to spending a summer at R News (now Spectrum News) in Rochester, NY, where she was later hired as a producer. At R News, Kate created original news programming for kids. “We had a segment called R Kids but it was more about parenting”, explains Kate. “I pitched the idea of featuring young people’s voices and activities in a fun way and my boss gave me the opportunity to do that. It was my first on-air gig.” Kate became a reporter and eventually moved to Albany for a full-time anchor position.
Craving a creative outlet in 2013, Kate started a YouTube channel. “I was frustrated by not having a creative component of my regular job and a friend encouraged me to just do something I enjoy and see where it leads. It was great advice and it eventually led to starting a YouTube channel.” Originally called “No TelePrompTer, No Mercy”, the channel featured fun, light-hearted comedy. “I really just started it for fun, but it ended up changing my life. It gained attention and opened doors to a number of opportunities, including my job with WGRZ in Buffalo.”
Channel 2 in Buffalo approached Kate to join their team in late 2016. While there, she created Most Buffalo, a local news show focused on providing both information and inspiration with a side of humor. “My goal was to make news for all those people who always told me they don’t watch the news because it’s too depressing,” laughs Kate. “I couldn’t blame them and I wanted to create something that was not only informative but intentional about showing the good things and incredible people in the community.” Most Buffalo first aired in 2019 and stayed strong during the pandemic in 2020 and beyond. “That was when a lot of people discovered the show because they were home at 4pm to see it,” says Kate. “We figured it out as we went along, but it was always important for me to give people something positive. People share with me it meant a lot to them and I’m so grateful for their continued support.”
Kate’s work during that time earned her two back-to-back National Edward R. Murrow Awards for her writing in 2020 and 2021. She considers the wins major milestones in her career. “It was really meaningful for a couple of reasons: first, writing is at the core of all the work I do, and the Murrows have long been considered among the most prestigious awards in news. News is a pretty traditional institution, and my work did not fit that traditional mold, so to be twice recognized on both a local and national scale was an incredible honor.”
After 27 years in the news industry, Kate announced she was leaving her position with WGRZ in October of 2024. Without a clear next step in place, Kate took some time to decompress and explore new opportunities. One conversation with the National Comedy Center got the ball rolling on her next chapter.
“I’ve always felt comedy is vital to our lives; it’s a big part of who I am,” explains Kate. “When I announced I was leaving my job, we had the opportunity to sit down at talk about what the next step might be and realized working together might be a good fit for both of us.”
Kate’s position at the Comedy Center involves supporting marketing department efforts in promoting the museum and its happenings. “I serve as a spokesperson and ambassador which includes everything from writing articles or press releases to creating video content and handling press interviews.” Kate says she has enjoyed applying the skills she built in her news career in a different way, all while learning more about something she truly enjoys.
“The National Comedy Center is a world-class attraction right in our backyard and I want people to know that it’s really fun!” laughs Kate. “I love watching people of all ages explore the cool, interactive features of the museum and just spend a day laughing together. I also enjoy helping people learn about artform. There’s a lot of work that goes into comedy, and I think the museum does a great job of educating people about the incredible amount of heart, soul and talent it takes to do it well. We’re like the Louvre of Laughs!”
The Comedy Center is offering free admission for kids and teens from now until April 19th (two kids with the purchase of an adult ticket). “It’s a great time to bring the whole family,” encourages Kate. The Comedy Center is also proud to host “One Laugh at a Time: A National Comedy Center Memory Café” on the first Monday of every month. Memory Cafés provide a place for adults with memory loss and their caregivers to take a break from the stress of life and simply enjoy themselves and connect with others. The Comedy Center is one of 11 arts and cultural institutions in WNY to host a café.
When it comes to making her career change, Kate jokes, “I kept thinking to myself, ‘I’m more scared that I’m not more scared.’”She says it was 100% worth it, and she has no regrets. “So many supportive people reached out to me after the announcement with similar stories of making a major change. They admitted it can be challenging, but no one regretted it. I think it’s important to spread that message because a lot of other people told me they wanted to make a change but didn’t know where to start. One thing I learned is the things we convince ourselves are too big and too scary are more possible than we think. We just have to trust our instincts.”
For more information on the National Comedy Center visit comedycenter.org. You can read Kate’s weekly column “Kate Welshofer Was Here” on Substack https://katewelshofer.substack.com/ and follow her on Instagram @katewelshofer and Facebook @ThisisKateWelshofer. While not regularly making new videos, you can still watch Kate’s previous work on YouTube @KateWelshofer.