Sam Knef is a reporter based in northern Kentucky, who came to Spectrum News 1 after two years at WWMT, the CBS affiliate in Kalamazoo, Mich. Prior to that, he started his career at WEHT/WTVW, the ABC affiliate in Evansville, Ind., where he spent over two years as a multimedia journalist.

Originally from Shiloh, Ill., Sam reported in western Kentucky while covering the Tri-State and met his wife there, which has made Kentucky feel like home. One of the most meaningful stories he has covered was during that period.

It involved a land dispute between the owners of a new winery and their neighbor and he worked on it for more than a year. He got great satisfaction from shedding light on some of the nefarious things that were occurring behind the scenes and reminded him why he wanted to go into journalism. The saying “Journalism is the first draft of history” is something that resonates with him.

While in school at the University of Missouri, where he earned a BA in Radio/TV Journalism, he was a student reporter at KOMU, the NBC affiliate in Columbia.

Sam is a die-hard Green Bay Packers fan who loves spending time with family, especially his wife Jennifer. They enjoy walking and hiking, and have found many great places to do so around northern Kentucky, including the Purple People Bridge. He also has a daily walk with their miniature Australian Shepherd Lacy.