DENVER — It was Valentines Day 1984, and a young photojournalist from Tucson started working at 9NEWS.
Over the years, Manny Sotelo was a staff photographer, a Special Projects Producer, and the Chief Photographer, leading the staff to five “Station of the Year” awards from the National Press Photographer’s Association (NPPA). He went on to become the National President of that organization.
At 9NEWS he has worked every shift, covered all kinds of stories, shot and edited countless 9NEWS Special Programs and taught many young photographers his craft.
He’s covered floods, fires and mass shootings as well as hundreds, if not thousands of personal, heartwarming, happy stories.
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Years ago, he followed a homeless man around town, who was working for the Denver Voice newspaper. They became friends and fellow advocates for people experiencing homelessness. They stay connected and get together to this day.
That is not unusual. When Manny does a story on someone, he has the wonderful ability to connect with that person on a personal level. I’ve seen it happen hundreds of times.
While Manny and I have done many stories together for 40 years – one still stands out. In 1986 he and I were at the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger.
We were with a group of teachers and students from Boulder County, who won a contest to go to Florida to see history in the making. Little did we all know how true that would be.
Manny was shooting pictures of the group when the Space Shuttle blew up, sadly killing the crew. He kept working quietly, professionally, getting the reactions of the stunned onlookers to help tell the emotional story.
Manny Sotelo recorded one of the biggest stories of our time, and he didn’t skip a beat.
You may not know his name but you do know his work. To me, he’s always been a big part of the heart and soul of 9NEWS.
His compassion is real, his talent is obvious, and his work appreciated – for 40 years now.
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