Former longtime Houston TV photojournalists Tony Chapa of KTRK 13 and Steve Long of KPRC 2 have died in the past week.
Chapa was nearly a 30-year employee of ABC13 KTRK who previously worked for KIII 3 Corpus Christi.
"He was a quiet and sometimes intimidating presence on scenes and at news conferences," wrote Channel 13 reporter Jessica Willey. "He was a hard worker, incredibly capable and could rig anything but, more importantly he was my friend. Actually, Tony was like a big brother to me. He and I travelled extensively together to cover the biggest news at the time—Hurricane Katrina, the Pope’s death, a World Series, the War in Iraq, a presidential Inauguration, the DNC, to name a few."
Chapa also helped cover the Branch Davidian compound standoff near Waco in 1993 with reporter Wayne Dolcefino.
"Tony was someone I looked up to since we both worked in the Corpus TV market when I was just a kid starting in the business," former KTRK photojournalist Jaime Zamora told mikemcguff.com. "When he moved to Houston TV he encouraged me to try to get in with KTRK and was influential in me getting hired at Channel 13. A giant man with a bigger heart. A great photographer who covered any story with ease. A lover of great music and baseball, we had so many fun times together. I loved him and my family loved him. He will be dearly missed."
And I just heard that former KPRC 2 photojournalist Steve Long also died. Long joined KPRC in 1975 after serving in the Navy during the Vietnam War. He worked with the famous police beat reporter Jack Cato.
"He was a great singer and keyboardist—played in a band—and just had the best, funniest personality," former KPRC 2 reporter Ron Stone Jr. told mikemcguff.com "And he was a terrific newsman—-just had a nose for news and I was so fortunate to work alongside him and learn from him. Loved the guy! We all did!"
"Everyone remembers him for his calmness in a tough job," added former KPRC 2 photojournalist John Treadgold. "Also a great teacher of newbies in the business in the 70s/80s like myself."
