Katherine Chloé Cahoon

With no prior experience, a first-time writer and director has taken the idea that has filled his heart since an elementary school history class, and turned it into a feature film. Freedom’s Path will soon hit the big screen nationwide in honor of Black History Month. I had the privilege of interviewing Brett Smith about this portrayal of friendship and courage. Brett has been my friend since childhood, and told me about his movie idea twelve years ago, when he began the film’s creative process. Later this weekend, I’ll post the full news story.

The Buffalo Bills’ famously exuberant fans have been one of my TV news beats for the past three seasons. To support the Bills in this Sunday’s playoff game, I have prepared some of my favorite clips for you from those reports. In this video, I even show you how to do the Bills Shout Dance, so you can cheer on the team throughout the game! This weekend’s showdown between the Bills and the Bengals is especially poignant because the two teams have not met since Bills’ safety, Damar Hamlin, went into cardiac arrest following an impact during their last game together. Since then, I have been so touched by the fact that no matter which team fans root for, people around the world have come together to show their love and support for Damar. According to his doctors, though the road to recovery will be long, he is showing no signs of neurological damage. I have heard people from various walks of life say that this miraculous news has given them hope when struggling with their own challenges.

In this exclusive interview, the man who is both a United Nations’ Southeast Asia Advocate and a national civil engineer for the Philippines joined me for a frank discussion. Mark Fredelben Gomez Gravillo candidly described his people’s “fear of China,” love of country, and recovery from devastating super typhoons.

The pictures on the left are from one of the first news stories I created after moving to Western New York. Airing mere months before the pandemic began, it covered redevelopment plans for a circa 1931 food terminal in East Buffalo. Viewers sent encouraging messages asking for more news about the area and its development plans. That led me to many stories and friendships on the East Side.

After the mass shooting at Tops supermarket, an article appeared in the Wall Street Journal talking about disinvestment in the area. Though the writeup contained valid concerns, residents reached out to me saying that they wished it had acknowledged their hard work in recent years to redevelop East Buffalo. Since I know those projects well, they asked if there was anything I could do about that. These people mean so much to me that I wrote a letter to the WSJ editor and it was published. You can read about the efforts to revitalize this area here.

Creating this story was an adventure! I filmed it with my cell phone in four cities and two countries, just after the 5,500-mile-long border between them opened to citizens of both nations after a shutdown of almost two years. My quest was to determine the economic and personal impact of this once-in-history phenomena. To uncover the facts, I traveled through both countries in rain, wind, snow and sun! During the short time since my report aired, restrictions on both sides of the border have further changed with the rise and fall of Covid-19 variants, and differences of opinions concerning governmental regulations. My full story is on SpectrumLocalNews.com

As a TV journalist, my office can become a variety of places, like a municipal building, courtroom, restaurant, car, or even a picturesque trail. Often, I’m all over the landscape in the course of one day. In this behind-the-scenes video, you come along with me.

In this news story, I take viewers from Buffalo to Nigeria, where kids are learning pre-professional dance despite living in poverty and lacking resources. Although their dance floor is often a dirt road, nothing can dampen these students’ passion and the quality of their work. For more than a year, while many people have been physically separated from loved ones by the Covid-19 pandemic, a bond has been formed between Buffalo and Nigerian dancers. Creating this report reminded me of similar bonds I formed while growing up and dancing pre-professionally.

Fire, liquid nitrogen and ice cream…it’s all in this behind-the-scenes video on the making of a news story!

Here’s a candid, behind-the-scenes look at how TV news stories are created. To show you this, one of my friends filmed me while I was filming a story for Spectrum News.

Here, I bring you with me as I direct and shoot a news story while walking miles across the beautiful, snow-covered rolling hills of Western New York.

Shea’s Performing Arts Center is a Buffalo landmark sought out by people from around the world. Broadway touring productions typically choose Shea’s as the venue to launch their shows. Although the pandemic has put this New York treasure on intermission for almost a year, Shea’s is celebrating its 95th anniversary and looking forward to opening its doors again. Teamwork is the epitome of this company. I appreciate that every time I enter the theatre. This time, I am especially thankful for the use of archival material and Kevin Sweeney, Director of Marketing and Communications. I generally shoot and edit my stories solo, and I wanted to do a standup that would have required me to clone myself. Without hesitation, Kevin came to the rescue and filmed me while walking backwards!

The Bills Mafia is world-renown, and known for having some of the most spirited football fans. With Buffalo buzzing about the team’s high-stakes home game tonight in the NFL Divisional Round, the Bills Mafia are in high gear. Here’s my story about how this famous fan group came to be, straight from a founder. She attended last week’s playoff game and gives you a flavor of what to expect once the Bills Stadium gates open.

Now, you can not only sing along with the Buffalo Bills SHOUT Song, you can dance along with it too! As a news reporter, I get to cover many exciting fan stories. Ever since I posted one about the viral Bills SHOUT Dance, fans have messaged me asking to learn it. Here, two dancers from Future Dance, the local group that created it, team up with me to teach you the choreography! The Bills are headed to the playoffs and hosting their first playoff game in 25 years! So, dance, shout and show your team spirit!!

When a white police officer in Minneapolis handcuffed an African-American suspect, pushed him face-first onto the pavement, and kneeled on his neck until he died, people worldwide swarmed cities to express their outrage. The peaceful protests descended into violence, vandalism and looting. The next morning, concerned citizens started cleaning up the damage, but day-after-day, the cycle was repeated. I am a TV reporter and anchor in New York. This is a candid look at what I witnessed firsthand.

Because I am an anchor and reporter, my business is considered an essential service, even during a pandemic. I am in New York, which is quickly becoming the epicenter of the virus. State government has placed several restrictions on residents in an attempt to slow down the spread of this disease. I have received so many questions about what it is like to do my job under these conditions that I’ve created this Day in the Life Video about it. If there is anything you would like to see covered on the local Western New York news at this trying time, please feel free to reach out to me with your questions.