Michelle Nicks - WOIO

Michelle Nicks joined 19 News in March 2020.

She comes to Cleveland from WFMJ in Youngstown.

Michelle is a seasoned journalist who was named a distinguished Silver Circle Honoree by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) in 2025. This lifetime achievement award recognized Michelle’s work as a journalist and her solutions-oriented reporting in Northeast Ohio for well over 25 years.

Among Michelle’s other achievements, she was honored by the Victims of Crime in Greater Cleveland for her compassionate reporting in 2022; she’s also an Edward R. Murrow recipient and an Emmy Award-winning news reporter.

The Ohio Associated Press has named Michelle as Best Reporter five times over her career. She has won more than 20 other awards for writing, investigative reporting, and breaking news coverage.

Michelle has also been honored by the Cleveland Press Club for her work to get ODOT and the City of Cleveland to make changes to a dangerous exit ramp that had speeding drivers repeatedly slamming into several neighboring homes, costing tens of thousands of dollars in damage and a risk to public safety.

The one-time YWCA Woman of the Year in Communications was also honored by the Youngstown City Council with a resolution for her continuing coverage of a missing child.

Youngstown Police at the time credited Michelle’s ongoing investigative reports, called “Where’s Jimmy?” with helping lead to the arrests and convictions of two caregivers in connection with the teen's death in Mahoning County, Ohio.

A graduate of The University of Akron, Michelle began her broadcast career during the summer before her senior year in college when she was hired at the former WAKR-TV in Akron to work in production.

She moved from Akron to Columbus, where she spent eight years at WBNS-10TV and WBNS Radio.

In 1995, she began her full-time reporting career in Youngstown, where she often reported the top story of the day, as well as national stories, including the second bribery and racketeering trial and the ultimate conviction of the late Congressman James A. Traficant.

She also traveled to Washington, D.C., to cover history as Traficant became only the second U.S. House member since the Civil War to be expelled from Congress.

Michelle's career has also included covering Youngstown's first mob murder to be solved and prosecuted at the federal level, as well as the arrests and convictions of numerous public officials in the Mahoning Valley due to political corruption, including case-fixing.

When it comes to politics, Michelle has interviewed Joe Biden one-on-one, as well as Barack Obama, before he took office as President in 2008.

She's also interviewed Mitt Romney, John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton.

Michelle says the thing she loves most about her job is meeting new people almost daily and learning something new every day!

When she has free time, Michelle enjoys traveling to spend time with family and friends.

If you see her out and about, make sure to say hello. "Some of my most interesting stories have come from people who have stopped to chat with me while I'm out shopping or at a local restaurant," Michelle said.

You can email Michelle your story ideas at: Michelle.Nicks@woio.com.