Kaitlyn McCarthy is a dayside multimedia journalist for 21 News.

McCarthy joined the 21 News team in 2022 but became a dayside reporter in April 2024. Before reporting, Kaitlyn was a booker and assistant producer for 21 News 5 P.M.

During her years as a reporter at 21 WFMJ, Kaitlyn provided extensive coverage of the Realty Building explosion in downtown Youngstown, politics, and healthcare.

Kaitlyn was also part of 101 West: Who’s Caring for Our Health, and conducted a series examining the inner workings of JobsOhio.

While working at the station, Kaitlyn developed a passion for investigative journalism, particularly in Watchdog reporting.

Kaitlyn grew up in Northeast Ohio and graduated from Youngstown State University in 2023 with a degree in telecommunication studies and a minor in journalism. Before graduating, McCarthy won a Senior Leadership Award.

While in college, Kaitlyn was an anchor and floor director for JambarTV. At that point, she already knew her hopes of staying in the valley and telling the news to those living in her hometown.

Since childhood, Kaitlyn has been passionate about telling stories and editing videos. In fact, Kaitlyn has been editing videos as a hobby since she was 10.

When Kaitlyn isn’t looking into the latest news, she loves game nights with her family and friends, playing video games, getting in a quick workout at the gym, and hanging out with her husband, Brendan, and their dog, Dasher.

Email Kaitlyn at Kmcca@wfmj.com with any news ideas, and you can follow her on Facebook.