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 one 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 said . “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.” Jessica Willey said, “ony 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. He was an important part of the newsroom in his 20+ years here at the station and always a go-to photojournalist. I knew he always had my back. ” Tony left Houston about 10 years ago, he died New Year’s Eve.
