Craig Savage seen on Air Force One during then-President George W. Bush’s secret 2003 trip to Iraq to visit the troops there for Thanksgiving.
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.”
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Longtime Fox News Channel cameraman Craig Savage died at 61 on Sunday after a courageous battle with cancer.
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.”
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Savage was also crucial during then-President George W. Bush’s secret 2003 trip to Iraq to visit the troops there for Thanksgiving and was assigned to President Trump’s covert trip to Afghanistan for Thanksgiving with the troops in 2019.
“His stealth and proficiency in delivering footage under the most stringent conditions were a testament to his skill and dedication,” Scott and Wallace wrote.
In recent years, Craig embraced the skies as a drone pilot, contributing hundreds of flight hours to Fox News’ news-gathering efforts on stories that ranged from the southern border to natural disasters.
“He truly left an indelible mark on Fox News and shaped the careers of many,” Scott and Wallace wrote.
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Savage is survived by his wife, Fox News senior producer Anne Marie Riha, his sons Jake, Andrew and Maxwell, daughter-in-law Alexa, his stepchildren Zachary and Carly Norins and his grandchildren Sloane and Evander Savage.
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