Alumni Life: young bulls

Camera Ready

Multimedia journalist Rachel Elzufon brings her eclectic range of skills back home

Rachel Elzufon.

Rachel Elzufon (BA ’08) on her home turf, in the WKBW-TV studio. Photo: WKBW-TV

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“One of the best things about UB is that they push the opportunity to intern. ”
Rachel Elzufon

By Trevor Delaney

What do dance and journalism have in common? For Rachel Elzufon (BA ’08), an award-winning multimedia journalist now at Buffalo’s WKBW-TV news station, quite a lot.

A dual major in dance and political science with a certificate in journalism, Elzufon credits much of her reporting and improvisation skills to her time in the UB Department of Theatre and Dance. “In so many ways, being a dance major helped with this business and with life because you learn how to keep going through any little hurdle,” she says. “You learn how to take criticism and put it to use.” Clearly she’s put any criticism to good use: She was part of a news team that won an Associated Press award in 2010, and was nominated for Associated Press Reporter of the Year in 2012, both while working out west.

Elzufon’s talents play out in front of and behind the camera. A multimedia journalist, she explains, is a “do-it-yourself person. I shoot my own video, edit my own stories and post them on the Web most of the time.”   

While at UB, Elzufon spent three semesters interning at local Western New York news stations. She also interned for the TV show “America’s Most Wanted.” “One of the best things about UB is that they push the opportunity to intern,” she says. “The diversity of those internships really prepared me for this business more than I ever could have thought.”

Rachel Elzufon takes a selfie with meteorologist Mike Randall.

Shortly after graduation, Elzufon, who was born and raised in the Philadelphia area, moved to the West Coast and began her career at KYMA-TV News 11, covering news in Arizona and California. However, she soon realized that Buffalo was home and moved back in 2012. “I’ve always loved Western New York and deeply missed it after college. Every step I took while out west was to ensure that I could get a reporting job back in Buffalo.”  

Her Buffalo loyalties extend beyond her career. She met her husband, Ian Couch (BA ’07), at UB, and still remains close to her college friends. But the buck stops at sports. “Since I went to UB and live in Buffalo, I always root for the Bills as well as the Eagles. But I definitely catch some flak for being a Flyers fan,” she laughs.