One of KWCH’s two evening news anchors is leaving the station for a new job
One of KWCH Channel 12’s two main evening news anchors is leaving the station later this month for a job with Koch Industries.
Melissa Scheffler, who has been with the station for nearly 10 years, said her last day on the air will be Feb. 12. She’s accepted a position on Koch’s communication and marketing team — a job she says will allow her to have more traditional work hours as she raises her two small children, ages 4 and 7 months.
Scheffler, who now anchors the 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts with Michael Schwanke, has been with KWCH since September of 2011. She’s a Newton native who graduated from the University of Missouri and worked in Medford, Oregon, and Memphis before coming to Wichita as a reporter and anchor.
Her first job with the station was anchoring the 9 p.m. newscast on KSCW, which is a KWCH affiliate station. She still anchors that show.
She took over evening anchor duties on KWCH when longtime anchor Cindy Klose left the station in 2016. Scheffler sat behind the news desk with Roger Cornish until he also retired in 2018.
Scheffler said she’ll miss working as a journalist. She remembers being sent as a rookie reporter to New York City in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and she also covered the wildfires in Oregon.
Brad Moses, the who is the general manager at KWCH, said that he has posted the position and will look for someone to replace Scheffler who is the right fit for the market. He doesn’t have an exact timeline for when that will happen, he said.
Replacing Scheffler will be difficult, he said.
“I was a big fan right from the start when I first moved here,” he said. “I felt fortunate to work with such a professional. I hate to see her go, but I certainly understand why she wanted to make the change. For me, it’s always family first.”
Scheffler said she’ll miss her colleagues, who have been supportive of her decision, but that she’s ready to take on a new challenge.
“I have to say, the best thing I’ve done is coming back home to cover my hometown, to be here and tell the stories of the people I grew up with,” she said.
This story was originally published February 1, 2021 at 10:29 AM.
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