Beloved Fox News Channel cameraman Craig Savage dead at 61

Beloved, longtime Fox News Channel cameraman Craig Savage died at 61 on Sunday after a courageous battle with cancer.

Savage joined Fox News on October 3, 1996, four days before the network launched, and has played a key role in its success. FOX News Media CEO Suzanne Scott and President and Executive Editor Jay Wallace shared the heartbreaking news in a memo to staff on Monday morning, calling Savage a “pioneering force” at the network.

“Shortly after joining the network, Craig’s exceptional skills and creative eye were quickly recognized by our then-Washington bureau chief Kim Hume, who assigned Craig to the White House unit, a role he honorably fulfilled throughout his career here,” Scott and Wallace wrote.

“An integral part of numerous pivotal events in FOX News Channel’s history, he helped shoot our first presidential interview with then-President Clinton and was subsequently involved in nearly every presidential interview thereafter,” Scott and Wallace continued. “He also ran the FOX floor camera at the 2000 and 2004 presidential conventions — an extremely challenging job that he truly relished.”

Scott and Wallace noted that Craig’s versatility was critical as part of the White House unit.

“He was at the forefront of the industry’s evolution from analog to digital, mastering complicated transitions to LED lighting. There, he continued his reputation as an award-winning photographer and was dedicated to perfecting the images he produced for news programming, encompassing everything from elections to wars and natural disasters.

He often invested countless hours learning the latest technologies, only to turn around and generously share that knowledge with colleagues,” they wrote.

“It was his troubleshooting prowess in particular that made him the go-to person for any complex challenge, mainly when it came to ensuring flawless live shots from the White House,” Scott and Wallace continued.

“In one notable instance, Craig chose to act as an engineer during a major pool trip for FOX News when then-President Clinton visited Africa, deciding to help our very young team accomplish a huge assignment instead of traveling in his traditional role, which would have allowed him to go on a safari and have a front row seat to an historic event in Africa.”