Dave Mckinley Biography
Dave Mckinley is a Swedish-American reporter. He is a General Assignment Reporter at WGRZ in Buffalo, NY. Dave is a native of Brockport, New York and got his start in radio at age 14. Mckinley first came to the Queen City to attend Buffalo State College. He then spent many years working professionally in radio as a disc jockey, play-by-play sportscaster, newscaster and talk show host (all in Upstate New York) before jumping into television in 1999.
Dave Mckinley Age
The information regarding his age and birthday have not been revealed as of now.
Dave Mckinley Family
McKinley grew up one of ten children on a family farm that was located just down the road from his current home in Sweden.
Dave Mckinley Education
He started his radio career as a young teen with Brockport High School’s student-run FM station. Mckinley then majored in Broadcasting at Buffalo State. College radio was a stepping stone to part-time work as a weekend newscaster for WBEN in Buffalo, while Dave was still an undergraduate.
By age 22, he was working 7 days a week in the Buffalo/Niagara Falls news radio market. Not to mention, full time reporting and later news directing during the week, while still weekend broadcasting for WBEN.
Dave Mckinley Career
By 1989, Dave was back in Rochester as a street reporter for WHAM Radio. “That station is the one I grew up listening to, and the one I really wanted to work for,” he says. Local television channels knocked on his door from time to time, but he always passed, preferring to continue his radio career.
Then a trusted former colleague was named news director at a local network affiliate and wanted to add a seasoned reporter to their team. “I never had any aspirations to be on TV,” says Dave of that opportunity. “I relied on my voice, but news writing is another arrow in my quiver.” He took the job. Then, WGRZ came calling in 2007.
“They said to me ‘we have an opening and we heard you’re the guy,’ so I asked them who had said so,” says Dave. The answer: “More people told me that you’re the guy than I’ve got fingers on my hands.”
Dave Mckinley Wife | Children
As of his love life, Dave is married to his wife Jillayne Lessord. Moreover, The happy couple is blessed with two sons. When not chasing a story, Dave enjoys being with his wife, raising their two sons, and growing vegetables
Dave Mckinley Emmy Award | Wgrz
McKinley just might be a master of storytelling, and he has the statue to prove it. McKinley is a general assignment reporter with Buffalo news station WGRZ channel 2, a Gannett Company. Back on May 2, he and his wife, Jillayne Lessord, traveled to New York City to the Marriott Marquis in Times Square.
He was among six finalists in the New York State Emmy Awards news writing category. The other five finalists were network reporters serving the New York metropolitan area. Though WGRZ is a station nationally recognized for breaking the mold and keeping high journalistic standards, Dave said he thought, “I’m up against network guys! I’m not supposed to win, ‘the kids from Buffalo’ are not going to beat these guys!”
Dave’s win in the news writing category made six awards for WGRZ. Their table covered in Emmy statues, situated next to the red carpet photo-op area, was a scene for envy and curiosity all evening.
Four stories from WGRZ’s 2013-2014 season made up Dave’s submission, a body of work that exemplifies the humor, tenderness, and quality of his storytelling.
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