Steve Kuzj
Email Steve Kuzj at steve.kuzj@wnyt.com
Steve Kuzj co-anchors NewsChannel 13 Live at 5, 5:30, 9 p.m., and 11 p.m. with Rachel Tiede.
He joined NewsChannel 13 in early 2024 from New York City, where he anchored news, sports, and reported on the major stories of the day across the five boroughs. Why did he make the move from the country’s biggest city? Steve’s wife and young kids live here in the Capital Region, and Steve was driving his car all the way down to NYC and back every day he worked. Why would anyone regularly do a 325-mile round-trip commute? If you ask Steve, he’ll tell you it’s because he’s passionate about two things: covering big stories, and helping his kids get to school in the morning. However, once an opportunity at News Channel 13 emerged, Steve was happy to make the change to be closer to his family.
If you must know, Steve is a bit of a geek. His wife will tell you that he’s probably too into video games and comics for his own good. (His son would disagree.) But Steve also has a much wilder side to him. Adrenaline pumping activities like snowboarding mountains, scuba diving sunken wrecks, and testing his mixed-martial arts skills are all things he loves to do. Steve is a 2nd Degree Black Belt and used to frequently compete in martial arts tournaments. Maybe someday you’ll see him announcing an MMA or boxing event.
Here’s his career in a nutshell: after graduating from the University of Minnesota, Steve started out on NBC TV in Augusta, GA. He learned quick, and rapidly moved up to Atlanta. From there he headed west to the desert of Phoenix to take a job as a reporter who filled in anchoring the news and sports. As a child, Steve always dreamed of living in Los Angeles, so that’s where he went next. He spent nearly a decade on KTLA 5 News covering wildfires, police chases, Hollywood scandals and everything else you can imagine. Steve’s career had been one big adventure. He’s even picked up a few Emmys and other awards along the way. With several years of improv comedy under his belt, Steve has no problem being relaxed and entertaining, whether in front of the camera or on stage.
Steve grew-up in the thick forests of Minnesota, where hunting, camping, and adventuring were the weekend norm. In the Boy Scouts, Steve achieved the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout (a difficult to reach position that comes with a signed letter from the President of the United States.)
Oh, and that last name? It’s Ukrainian, and pronounced like the “Luge,” but with a “Ka” sound at the beginning. His father immigrated to the U.S. as a child. There’s quite a family story there. Ask him about it some time.
If you’ve got photos or videos of weather, or anything else you think is interesting, please send them to Steve. He loves to hear from viewers, and he just might share your stuff on-air.
Twitter/X: @SteveKuzj
Instagram: @SteveKuzj
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SteveKuzj/
Email Steve Kuzj at steve.kuzj@wnyt.com