She’s sweet. And smart. And super nice. I have to say, I love meeting young journalists who are passionate about what they do, and that seems to be the case with Angela Christoforos. She’s covered a few stories that I’ve been a part of – and I can tell she loves what she does.
You can find Angela on Channel 4’s Wake-Up show Monday-Friday! She’s from Massachusetts but has made Buffalo her home away from home.
We caught up with Angela for a Spotlight Interview and talked about those early morning hours, crazy live television, her personal blog, her family, and of course, what makes her Totally Buffalo!
Q: How are things on the morning show? Do you miss your sleep yet?
A: I love the morning show! Even though I wake up at 2:30 am everyday, it’s by far my favorite shift to work in news! Most nights I’m in bed by 7:30 pm and still manage to pull off 7-8 hours of sleep. I will admit it takes a lot of discipline to be on this shift but I think the pros outweigh the cons. (It’s also nice to be done with work by 12:30 pm if I’m out on time!)
Mornings are great because I get to cover a mix of hard news, breaking news, and fun features. I also love the thrill of going live, and I do about 9-10 live shots each morning starting at 5 am! I have a great relationship with my photographer Paul Ivancic, and we have a lot of fun covering different assignments. I love getting to show viewers all of the great things happening in our community.
Q: What has been your favorite story you’ve covered so far?
A: March will be my 5 year anniversary in the business, and over these past 5 years there have been so many! I love covering a wide range of stories and when I think about my favorites a few come to mind. I was in court for 3 weeks straight to cover the Andre Jenkins Kingsmen motorcycle club trial. I also covered the implosion of the Millard Fillmore Hospital. But I think my all time favorites are the personal stories that pull on your heart strings.
Before I came to Buffalo, I did a 5 part series on autism awareness at my first on-air job in Northern Maine. My brother, who is just one year younger than I am has autism, so my connection is very personal. Part 1 of the series was on my family, and for the other parts of the series I found different people in the community impacted my autism. I wanted viewers to understand how autism affects people at different stages of life and how wide the spectrum is. I wanted to show the challenges they face, but also highlight their talents. I poured my heart and soul into that series, and it ended up winning an award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.
Q: I know you embrace your Greek heritage – tell us why that is so important to you?
A: I am 100% Greek and proud of it! I’m actually first generation too – my mom was born in Samos, a Greek Island that’s close to Turkey, and my father is from Kalamata, a city south of Athens. Greek was actually my first language, and I was baptized in a Greek Orthodox Church. I love the traditions and values that come with growing up as a Greek American. Family and faith is really important in the Greek culture, and both are very much big parts of my life today. Embracing my Greek heritage has always been important to me because it is a big part of who I am, and how I was brought up. I also LOVE Greek foods like spanakopita, and I can cook quite a few Greek dishes too! 😉 I love that there is such a big Greek community in Buffalo! Opa!
Q: You come from a very close family – your mom watches you every morning and always comments on how you did, etc – what does that mean to you?
A: It means the world to me! Every morning before 7 like clockwork, I always get a text from my mom. My dad is an old-school Greek and doesn’t really do technology. So my mom pulls up the livestream online, and they both watch together before he heads to work. Sometimes the text is, “Love your dress today!” Or, “Great job, nice reporting!” My parents are my number one fans, and knowing I have their support makes me feel good. They have always believed in me and encouraged me to pursue my dreams, since I was a little girl. I was only 12 when I declared I wanted to work in TV news! Chasing your dreams is hard work, and having the most important people in your life cheer you on along the journey gives you that extra push you need to keep going.
Q: One of our favorite people on the planet is Jacquie Walker – I know you appreciate how thoughtful she is and how generous she is with her time in mentoring you – tell us what that means?
A: Jacquie Walker is such a gem! She has spent so much of her own time mentoring me. We usually meet for sessions on Thursday nights during her break, when she could easily be doing a number of other things. We look at my recent stories, live shots, fill-in anchoring, and we pick it apart. We talk about what I did well, and what I could do differently next time. We focus on things like delivery, writing, voicing – all of the ingredients you need to convey a story well to viewers. I value her input because she has 3+ decades of experience in the business! She has a wealth of knowledge to share and I’m just so grateful she is willing to share it with me. I have grown so much over the past 3 years in Buffalo and I owe so much of it to Jacquie. She is just the sweetest lady, I could go on and on about why she’s the best!
Q: Craziest thing that’s happened on live television?
A: Crews from Watkins Glen brought an INDYCAR to the station to promote a big race happening there Labor Day weekend. So I rode around in this race car all morning long on the show, and did live shots riding up and down Elmwood Avenue! It was hilarious, and it definitely felt like we were going faster than we actually were because I was so close to the ground. We definitely turned a few heads on Elmwood that day!
Q: Something you did on live tv that you wish you could take back!
A: Sometimes there is chaos happening behind the scenes in the moments leading up to a live shot. Especially when you get to the scene of breaking news with very little time to prepare. Sometimes if you try to memorize too much it’s easy to lose your train of thought. I try to think in bullet points, and I always have a back up script on my phone I can refer to.
Eating food on live TV usually doesn’t go too well… LOL. On Friday’s we’ve been doing a fun “Buffalo’s Best” promotion. When I covered Buffalo’s best chicken wing, of course I had to try it on live TV. I only had a small bite of a suicidal wing, and my mouth was on FIRE! I had to step out of the shot, and could barely talk afterwards haha! Not my most graceful live shot, but it did make for entertaining TV!
Q: I know you are passionate about educating folks about autism – and you have a very special reason for it .. can you share?
A: My brother Polyvios (Paul for short) has autism. He is 26 years old, and we grew up very closely because I am only just over a year older than he is. At age 3 my brother still wasn’t talking, and my mother was concerned because I hit all of my milestones on time but for some reason my brother was behind. My mother taught him how to speak with flash cards, one at a time. He has also struggled with behavioral issues, but he has come a long way over the last 25 years.
We are so fortunate that my brother is very high functioning. He is also hilarious – always says what comes to mind with no filter. He is a talented artist too. Back in 2009, his painting called “Dusk at the Acropolis” won first place in the New England Congressional Art competition, and his painting was hung in the House of Congress for a whole year! His art work has also been sold on t-shirts, mugs, postcards and magnets to raise money for autism research.
As you could imagine, my brother has a special place in my heart. I understand all of the ups and downs and that’s why I feel so passionately about advocating for the developmentally disabled.
Q: Tell us about your blog? You really share some behind the scenes info and your wardrobe info – folks love that stuff, don’t they?
A: I created my blog “Angela C on TV” to give people a behind the scenes look at life on and off camera. I post about a variety of topics. I like to share stories, but I also share some personal things too. I get a lot of questions about where I buy all of my clothes and jewelry I wear on TV, so I like to answer those questions on my blog! It’s fun to show viewers a personal side of myself and build a connection with people in the community.
Q: What makes you Totally Buffalo?
A: I think my pride is what makes me Totally Buffalo. People here have a lot of pride in their city, their traditions, and their strong work ethic. Likewise, I have a lot of pride in my work, my background, and what I’ve accomplished so far. I’ve also embraced all of the many things that Buffalo has to offer. All the great food, the history, and of course the Bills! (Even though I’m from New England!) I love going to the different festivals and meeting the friendly people in this city. People have totally embraced me and I’ve totally embraced Buffalo! ❤
Thank you, Angela for taking the time to chat!!!
You can learn more about Angela and follow along on her blog –
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