Keith Cate began working at WFLA-TV in January 2000 and serves as co-anchor of News Channel 8 at 5pm, 6pm & 11pm
Cate’s award winning, on-scene reporting and anchoring has taken him across the country and overseas. In 2016 Cate covered President Barack Obama’s historic trip to Havana, Cuba. It was Keith’s second trip to the Island Nation. In 2006 he flew to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to report on the treatment of terrorist suspects. In 2005, Cate traveled to the military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany to report on troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Cate stood on the beaches of Normandy, France in 1994 to cover the 50th anniversary of D-Day. In 1991 he reported from Moscow on the fall of communism in the former Soviet Union. Cate also covered the World’s Fair in Seville, Spain in 1992 and Pope John Paul II’s visit to Denver in 1993 and Baltimore in 1995.
In Florida, Cate has covered the devastation from several major hurricanes dating back to Andrew in 1992. He has also reported from Cape Canaveral on the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003 and Shuttle Discovery’s Return to Flight in 2005.
Cate began his career in 1984 as a reporter, producer and anchor at WKPT-TV in Kingsport, Tennessee. In 1988 he moved to Columbus, Ohio, joining WBNS-TV as weekend anchor and investigative reporter. His most notable work there was a series of undercover reports on courtroom corruption. In 1992 Cate joined WMAR-TV in Baltimore, Maryland where he co-anchored the 6 p.m. news. His investigative reporting in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. included an award winning undercover series on government waste. In 1998, Cate went to work for WIAT-TV in Birmingham, Alabama as anchor of the evening news at 5 and 10 p.m. where he was recognized for his live reports on a killer, F-5 Tornado.
Other highlights in Cate’s career include a 10-part series on the 26-weeks Keith spent going through the police academy and a report on DNA that helped solve a 10-year old murder mystery. One of Cate’s most exciting assignments took place in 2009 at the MacDill Air Show where Keith flew with the world famous Thunderbirds and experienced the thrill of pulling (9) g’s in an F-16 during a one hour flight over Tampa Bay.
During his time at WFLA-TV Cate has earned multiple awards and honors. He has received 14 Emmy Awards, four Edward R. Murrow Awards, numerous Associated Press Awards and several other professional honors during his reporting career that began in 1985. He was also named Best News Anchor in the Atlanta chapter of the NATAS and one of the most influential people in Florida politics.
