Avid news consumers probably won’t be shocked to learn that there are a lot of Western Pennsylvania natives in this region’s local media ecosystem reporting on their hometown.
Because of that, it’s always refreshing when someone without Pittsburgh ties moves here with a new perspective on the Steel City’s many quirks.
That may have been part of KDKA-TV leadership’s thought process when they hired Mamie Bah to become the station’s newest reporter. The New York City native started her Channel 2 tenure on Monday and will begin appearing on the air later this month.
Though Bah has spent most of her life and career in New York state, she has gotten to know the Rust Belt pretty well over the last few years while honing her broadcasting skills at WKEF-TV in Dayton, Ohio.
“I feel like leaving the city really helped me determine who I am as a person and where I belong in the world,” she told the Post-Gazette. “If you never leave your environment, you’re never going to figure that out.”
Bah grew up in The Bronx borough of New York City and said that CBS News was always a staple in her household. She left her childhood stomping grounds for the first time to earn degrees in broadcast journalism and political science from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh.
Albany was Bah’s next stop, both to get a master’s degree in public administration from the University at Albany and to launch her broadcasting career as a news producer for WRGB-TV. She spent two-plus years there before landing her first on-air job in Dayton in February 2021.
“Now we’re here, in Pittsburgh!” Bah said two months after leaving Ohio. “I’m honestly thrilled.”
Dayton is where Bah really got to test her journalistic chops. She’s a two-time Edward R. Murrow Award recipient who helped WKEF garner one such award while covering the death of Eric Cole, who had been shot before a police vehicle ran over him.
Bah’s time in Dayton also included working on stories about the murder of Aisha Nelson and her 6-year-old daughter, as well as a piece investigating the Dayton Police Department’s treatment of residents with disabilities.
While figuring out her post-Dayton plans, Bah ended up gravitating toward Pittsburgh because it reminded her of home in terms of how much Western Pennsylvanians clearly love their city.
“The pride of the people here when it comes to the Steelers, it really drew me to the city,” she said. “I just love the city. I love the people here. It’s a slower pace, but you can still get that city feel.”
It only took one day at KDKA for Bah to feel like she had landed in a newsroom full of journalists who match her devotion to serving their community.
“I’m very passionate about what I do,” she said. “I love journalism. Being in this environment is great for me.”
As a former New Yorker, Bah has frequently been reminding herself to physically slow down while getting used to Pittsburgh’s generally more laid-back walking pace. She has only been here for about a week, but already appreciates “how industrial” this region is and Pittsburgh’s many beautiful bridges.
The other big culture shock Bah has been pleasantly surprised by: all the folks on the street who smile and wave as they walk by, which she said is a far cry from what she had gotten used to in the Big Apple.
That bodes well for someone who wants KDKA viewers to know that “I’m always ready to listen — with or without my camera.”
“I want people to feel like they can reach out,” Bah said. “I want them to feel like I’m there for them. That’s really important to me.”
Joshua Axelrod: jaxelrod@post-gazette.com and Twitter @jaxelburgh.
First Published: November 7, 2023, 5:58 p.m.
Updated: November 7, 2023, 6:52 p.m.
