Hancock makes jump to Topeka station KSNT
Katrina Hancock is a little closer to home these days.
She is weekend sports anchor/reporter at KSNT, Ch. 27, the NBC affiliate in Topeka.
"It was a good jump, and getting closer to home was a bonus," she said recently.
Hancock graduated from Marion High School in 1995. After studying at Wichita State University, she moved to Bradley University, where she played Division I basketball and earned degrees in chemistry and communications, graduating in 2000.
She spent 18 months at a station in Wyoming as sports reporter and anchor.
KSNT is in a much larger market. This fall she will be concentrating on Topeka-area high school football, but also will do stories on the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, and Washburn, as well as the Kansas City Chiefs.
"It's not just Wyoming," she said. "It's a larger scale."
Currently, Hancock works Fridays through Tuesdays. After the high school football season ends, she will go to Wednesdays through Sundays.
KSNT is owned by Emmis Communications. Hancock is happy to be with the company, which gave her a two year contract, stock options, and the opportunity to work with experienced broadcasters.
"Our main news anchor has been in Topeka all of her life," Hancock said. "I'm learning a great deal."
In the field, Hancock still shoots most of her own video instead of working with a camera operator. It's second nature, she said.
"I'm still a one-woman band," she said with a laugh.
Her mother, Anita, teaches music at Marion Elementary School.
"God really does answer prayers," she said. But her daughter is so busy that trips home will be uncommon, particularly during sports seasons.
Therefore, Anita took the step of having a larger, rotating antenna mounted on her house, so she can pick up the Topeka station's broadcasts.
"Reception still isn't all that great, but I'm hoping it improves," she said.
Anita still gets to see her daughter at work, though. Katrina provides videotapes of her on-air reporting whenever she comes home.
Early in 2004, before her contract expires, the company and Hancock will begin re-negotiations. This gives both sides the opportunity to explore other options. While change is a given in broadcasting, Hancock is happy with the station and with Topeka, she said.
Her biography appears on the station's website, KSNT.com.
