Veteran Fox 11 news reporter Tony Valdez dies at 78

Trailblazing, Emmy-winning reporter Tony Valdez, who worked for KTTV-TV Channel 11 for 35 years, has died at the age of 78, the station announced Friday.

Valdez’s son told the station his father had been battling end-stage kidney failure and died at his home.

Valdez started working at KTTV in 1981 and retired in 2016.

“Tony Valdez was a trailblazing reporter, advocate, and mentor,” Fox 11 acting news director Pete Wilgoren said in a statement posted on the station’s website. “He was one of the first Latino journalists to break the color barrier in Los Angeles.

“And with pride, Tony said he spent 35 years, 5 months, and 4 days covering the stories of this city on KTTV. We are better journalists, and a better community, because of the coverage and compassion of Tony Valdez.”

Valdez was also the longtime host of KTTV’s “Midday Sunday,” and co-anchored weekend newscasts with Christine Devine in the 1990s, the station said. In addition, Valdez hosted the crime series “LA’s Most Wanted.”

Prior to joining KTTV, he wrote news stories for KTLA and KCET. He also worked for La Opinión and the Los Angeles Herald-Express.

Over the decades, Valdez covered such prominent stories as the Watts riots, the Hillside Strangler, Night Stalker and the O.J. Simpson case.

Valdez grew up in downtown Los Angeles, lived in Hollywood and possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of Los Angeles.

He was also an avid photographer, capturing Los Angeles in black and white, while his second love was playing the saxophone, according to the station.

“As a journalist, social issues have always been my beat and I am grateful for the decades of encouragement and support Fox has given me,” Valdez said when he announced his retirement.

“As I leave Fox 11, I am thinking about what a privilege it has been to interview people who had important stories to tell.”

Valdez joined the board of what is now the 8 Ball Emergency Fund for Journalists, that provides grants to journalists in need, and was elected chairman in 2018.

“Tony was passionate about the importance of journalism, about truth-telling, and about helping others,” said Roberta Wax, a freelance writer and vice-chair of the 8 Ball Emergency Fund for Journalists, which changed its name from the 8-Ball Welfare Foundation in July, 2020.

“In his 13 years on the 8 Ball board, he was a strong, compassionate, and generous leader, so proud of the work we did to help not only journalists in need, but also students, who he nurtured through scholarships and advice.”

Valdez is survived by his son, Steve Valdez, and three grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Los Angeles Conservancy, or to the 8 Ball Emergency Fund for Journalists.

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