Chris Conte’s official job title at 13WHAM News is reporter but at the end of the day, he considers himself to be a storyteller above everything else.
Prior to joining the 13WHAM News Team in June of 2011, Chris was telling stories as a reporter at KTTC, the NBC affiliate in Rochester, Minnesota (it’s something about the name).
While he was in Minnesota, Chris chased tornadoes across the country side on multiple occasions and even got a little too close to a deadly EF-4 tornado as it devastated dozens of communities in its path.
In September of 2011, Chris’ coverage of that tornado as well as historic flooding that swept away parts of Minnesota earned him a Regional EMMY Award for weather reporting. He has also received a handful of other EMMY nominations.
Chris has also covered a number of stories that caught the nation’s eye including the collapse of the Minnesota Viking’s Metrodome, a governors race that was too close to call and a budget battle that eventually shut down the state.
Chris has earned a number of awards including recognition by the Minnesota Associated Press for his writing and investigative reporting. In 2009, Chris’ series of reports exposed a serious methamphetamine problem that was going on in Southeastern Minnesota.
He was also awarded best feature for a story that gained national attention about a woman with multiple sclerosis who still rings bells for the Salvation Army from her hospital bed, in the middle of winter. It’s always the stories of the incredible people he meets that keeps Chris coming back day after day.
Prior to his Minnesota days Chris was at WCVB-TV, the ABC affiliate in Boston, Mass., where he was a writer for all of the station's newscasts.
Originally from Massachusetts, he graduated from Boston University with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Political Science.
Chris has always had a passion for the news. He got into the news business as a reporter for his college's newspaper. From there, he went on to anchor/report for NewTV, a local cable access station in Newton, Mass. Chris has interned at New England Cable News and was also an i-Team intern for WBZ-TV, the CBS affiliate in Boston.
When he’s not working, Chris is usually running marathons, skiing or biking. He raced competitively for the Boston University Ski Team while he was in college and so far has completed five marathons including Boston, Chicago and the Twin Cities.
You can send Chris your story ideas at Cconte@13WHAM.com
