Veteran reporter Tony Valdez dies at 78

Longtime news reporter Tony Valdez, an Emmy-winning trailblazer who worked for KTTV's Fox 11 for 35 years, has died at the age of 78, the station announced today.

Valdez's son told the station his father had been battling end-stage kidney failure and passed away 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 weekends 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 Opiñion and The Los Angeles Herald-Express.

Over the decades, Valdez covered prominent stories in Southern California such 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 L.A.

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

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the L.A. Conservancy, or to the 8 Ball Emergency Fund for Journalists, an organization that provides grants to journalists in need, and which Valdez chaired.