The longest-tenured employee of WIBW has died. Elmer Gunderson, a broadcast engineer at the Topeka CBS affiliate for almost 58 years, lost his battle with cancer Sunday. He was 81.

Gunderson joined the station in 1955, just two years after the station went on the air. He was just out of the Navy and looking for a radio engineering job to pay for his education. WIBW radio had no openings, but the television station did.

“He asked if I had any experience in television,” Gunderson said in a 2005 interview. “I said no. He said do you want to learn? And I said that would be all right.”

Gunderson continued to work at WIBW until his health declined in April.

Mario Machado, longtime anchor and reporter in the Los Angeles market has died.

Machado joined KHJ (now KCAL) in 1967 and moved to KNXT (now KCBS) in 1969. According to CBS owned stations KCBS and KCAL, Machado was the first prominent Chinese-American newscaster in the US and the first in the LA Market.

After leaving work as a broadcaster, Machado played a newsman in films such as “Oh, God!” “Rocky III,” “Airport ’79,” “Scarface,” “St. Elmo’s Fire,” and “Brian’s Song,” as well as working in three of the “RoboCop” films. He played himself in “Blue Thunder” and “Without Warning.”

Machado, was born in Shanghai, China to a Portuguese father and a Chinese-Portuguese mother. He played soccer in college and helped found the AYSO soccer league. He was 78. Read more

Former WFLA news director Joe Mannion has died after a long battle with renal cancer, according to The Tampa Tribune. He was 79.

Mannion joined the Tampa NBC affiliate as a reporter in the mid 1960s and was named news director in 1979. He left the station in 1983 and became a lobbyist for Pasco County, a position he held until he retired in 2009.

“Joe was ultimate newsman,” longtime friend Joe Davis told the Tampa Tribune. “He trained in Washington along with the Huntleys and the Brinkleys and the others that the younger guys these days don’t know.” [h/t TVNewsCheck]

Mike Herrera, a New Orleans television jack-of-all-trades who may be best known for his announcing voice, has died.

Over the span of his 40 year career in television, Herrera worked as a staff announcer, weathercaster, producer and director, floor director, promotion copywriter, switchboard operator and mailroom clerk.  Most recently, he was an engineer for Belo’s CBS affiliate WWL. Herrera was also the announcer for the new PBS series featuring Chef John Besh airing on WYES.

Herrera began working in broadcasting while in High School. He hosted a local variety show called “Teen City.”  After graduating from Loyola University, he started working at what is now the New Orleans FOX affiliate WVUE.

For eight years during the 1970s and 80s, Herrera was the weekend weather anchor at WVUE where he was described as “a capable talent who can serve a TV station well in a variety of ways,” by the TV critic for the Times-Picayune States-Item.

Herrera was 66.

Mark Walden, the chief meteorologist at WPTY in Memphis, died over the weekend from “apparent natural causes,” according to the station. He was 38.

“Our ABC 24 family is deeply saddened by the passing of chief meteorologist Mark Walden. He was highly respected among his colleagues and served this community as a gifted meteorologist and through his generous work with local charities. He touched our lives and will be greatly missed,” WPTY VP-GM Ardyth Dierks said in a statement.

Walden joined the ABC affiliate in 1999. WPTY described him as “as a gifted meteorologist with a passion for weather, and keeping our community safe and informed.”

The station reported the news of Walden’s death on the WPTY website Sunday morning. Rival stations WHBQ, WMC and WREG reported the news on the Sunday evening newscasts.

“Our family thanks everyone in the Mid-South for their condolences and kind words,” Walden’s wife, Jackquelynne Walden, said. “Mark really loved his viewers. He never met a stranger. And we’re grateful for all the prayers and support.”

Watch WPTY’s tribute to Walden after the jump. Read more

Bob Teague, one of New York City’s first black television journalists, died Thursday of complications of T-cell lymphoma. He was 84.

Teague joined NBC-owned WNBC in 1963 and worked as a producer, reporter and anchor for more than 30 years. The New York Times reports Teague was often sent to minority neighborhoods to report on racial tension during the 1960s, later becoming a principal correspondent for “Harlem: Test for the North,” a network show that examined riots in that neighborhood.

Teague, who was critical of the news business later in his career, was a trailblazer for the first black television journalists, the Times reports:

The changing public response to Mr. Teague and others in the first wave of black television journalists was suggested in a letter he received that he described in an article in The New York Times Magazine.

“When you first began broadcasting the news on television, I watched you every night, but I realize now, years later, that I was so conscious of the fact that you were black that I didn’t hear a word you said about the news,” it read.

“Now, I am happy to say, I still watch you every night, but only because you are a damn good newscaster.”

“Bob Teague was a broadcast pioneer with a passion for news and for serving his New York viewers,” WNBC said in a statement. “We were saddened to hear of his passing and send our most sincere condolences to his wife and the entire Teague family.”

Allen Tumey, who retired in 2011 after 11 years at WAFB in Baton Rouge, died Monday. He was 70.

During his time at the CBS affiliate, Tumey was a feature reporter who hosted a regular segment called “Tumey’s Travels.” Over the course of his career, he received several awards on both the state and national level, including the Iris Award from the National Association of Television Program Executives.

“I always had the feeling that Allen would do his job for free,” WAFB anchor Donna Britt said.  “There was such joy in his heart, and in his reporting. He had the unique ability to mine every situation for its charm, humor and beauty.”

Watch WAFB’s tribue to Tumey after the jump. Read more

Alec Gifford, a former news director at both WVUE and WDSU in New Orleans, died last week. He was 85.

Gifford joined WDSU, the New Orleans NBC affiliate, in 1955 after serving in the U.S. Navy. In 1966, he joined NBC News in New York, where he worked for one year before returning to New Orleans as news director, anchor and reporter at Fox affiliate WVUE. He returned to WDSU in 1980 and continued there until he retired in 2006.

“If today we enjoy a measure of respect and have earned the trust of our viewers, it is in large part due to the extraordinary work Alec Gifford did to establish WDSU as a news organization,” WDSU president and general manager Joel Vilmenay said in a statement. “We continue to honor Alec’s work every day in our effort to report stories with the same sense of dedication, integrity, talent and passion as Alec did.”

Bill Mitchell, who retired as a reporter for Tulsa, OK, ABC affiliate KTUL in December died Friday after a long illness.

“We are mourning the loss of a great reporter and friend today,” KTUL general manager Pat Baldwin said. “Bill loved the station and our viewers. He was a hard worker and taught us all how to find news stories. He will always be part of the Channel 8 family.”

Mitchell started at KTUL in 1972. In 1982, he moved to KARK in Little Rock, AR, for one year before working at KOCO in Oklahoma City for 11 years. Mitchell came back to KTUL in 1994 where he worked until December 2012. Read more

Doug Oliver, a weathercaster at KFMB in San Diego for more than three decades, died on March 15. He was 90.

Oliver began his career as a radio announcer at WLAW in Lawrence, Mass., in 1943, according to U-T San Diego. He moved to a San Diego radio station shortly afterward and took his first job in television in 1954. He joined CBS affiliate KFMB in 1961 and spent 32 years as the station’s principal weathercaster.

Watch KFMB’s tribute to Oliver after the jump. Read more