Profile: KCCI Executive Producer Erin Moynihan

From covering tornados to interning with Conan O’Brien, KCCI 8 News Executive Producer Erin Moynihan’s work in the TV business has taken her across the country.

She has produced multiple newscasts throughout the Midwest, and prior to becoming executive producer, she produced the top-rated 10 p.m. newscast on KCCI. She also oversees KCCI’s political coverage.

Moynihan has been interested in journalism since she was 16-years-old. Although, she knew she did not want to be in front of the camera. Producing had a nice ring to it and that drew her in. Moynihan started interning with television stations when she was in high school at Fox 9 in Minneapolis. While pursuing her journalism degree at the University of Missouri, Moynihan worked from a television station in Columbia, MO. She spent a summer in Baltimore working for a TV station and soon after that got an internship at “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.”

“Working on the Conan O’Brien show was such an awesome experience and I really learned a lot,” Moynihan said.

Moynihan has been with KCCI on and off since 2007. She took a short break when she moved to Kansas City. She worked at KMBC-TV during that time. One of her most memorable stories happened when she was in Joplin, MO. It was right after an EF-5 tornado destroyed a good portion of the town. Moynihan was in the field helping produce a story for KMBC.

“Being in Joplin right after the tornado is probably the closest I will ever come to a ‘war zone.’ We had people coming up and asking for help because emergency crews were overwhelmed. I was up for 36 hours covering the story,” Moynihan said.

Moynihan said her favorite part of her job is that no day is the same and that you never know what might happen.

“But my least favorite part of the job is that no day is the same. It makes it hard to have a life sometimes when you don’t know what your schedule may be,” Moynihan said.

According to Moynihan, anyone in the news industry should be prepared to work nights, weekends, and holidays. The schedule of a producer is very full and also unpredictable.

“Make sure this is something you really enjoy doing. Producers don’t get a ton of credit for what they do,” Moynihan said when asked about if she had any advice for upcoming journalists.

“I do feel like I still have some things to learn from KCCI,” Moynihan said. She has been honored with an Emmy and Regional Edward R. Murrow awards.

KCCI received the Upper Midwest Emmy, National Edward R. Murrow Award and Sigma Delta Chi Award during her time as producer.

Moynihan’s goal moving forward is to continue to move up the management chain in newsrooms.

Also, to save up enough money to retire and buy a lake house for her and her family.