Indiana Broadcast History Archive

Photojournalism and Steve Starnes go hand in hand.  He enjoyed a successful 30-year career in photojournalism at WTHR in Indianapolis. Before arriving in Indianapolis, Starnes began his broadcasting career at his hometown station, WGEM, in Quincy, Illinois. Starnes worked for WGEM for 10 years before moving to WTHR in Indianapolis. 

Some of his most successful career moments happened while at WTHR. In 1982, Starnes was the photojournalist for a documentary titled Klan that covered the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana. This documentary won Starnes, and WTHR, an Emmy Award. Starnes also found success as the photojournalist for Anne Ryder, recording and editing various news documentaries that covered stories in Indianapolis, across the nation, and around the world. Starnes’s career behind the cameras took him all over the world, traveling from Afghanistan and Albania to Africa, before he retired in 2009.

Starnes was inducted to Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame in 2017.

-Indiana Broadcast Pioneers

Early Life & Career at WGEM

Steve Starnes was born June 5th, 1950, in Quincy, Illinois. During his childhood, he enjoyed playing baseball before turning his interests to photography. Starnes began his photojournalism career at his hometown station, WGEM, in Quincy, Illinois, at the age of 19.

Starnes’ father-in-law, a photographer for WGEM, asked him if he would be interested in getting a job at the station as a photojournalist. Starnes then interviewed with the general manager at WGEM and got the job. He believed that this was a good career choice because prior to getting the job, Starnes was bagging groceries at the supermarket.  

In his 2023 oral history interview with IU student Jackson Powers, Starnes talked about his early influences in photojournalism.

WGEM was Starnes’ first experience with photojournalism but he always believed that he had an eye for picture-taking naturally. However, he would have to learn the technology for photojournalism, and he made mistakes. At one point, the manager at WGEM told Starnes that if he made any more mistakes that he would be fired. But the manager soon grew to like Starnes and he kept his job.  

One of the first stories that Steve remembers shooting was about a strike at a limestone plant. While covering the event, Starnes’ was so intimidated by the strikers that he kept his distance from them, possibly negatively affecting the footage. Another story that he remembers filming was with WGEM reporter Maggie Thomas, who was a pioneer for women in Illinois broadcasting. 

One of the most memorable stories from his time at WGEM was a story about a jailbreak. Starnes was able to film the gunman up close while the police were trying to arrest him. Another big story that he covered was when he and Maggie Thomas went to Washington D.C. to cover the United States Bicentennial with a budget of $150. They interviewed Henry Kissinger and shot an hour-long documentary on the 200th anniversary of the United States. 

Steve spent 10 years, almost to the day, at WGEM before leaving for WTHR in Indianapolis. Starnes got the job at WTHR because one of his colleagues at WGEM sent in a tape to the station as a resume for a job. However, the manager at WTHR was more impressed by Starnes’ work as a photojournalist and asked him to send more reels and his resume.

WTHR Channel 13

Starnes’ first day at WTHR was July 2, 1979. While Starnes was familiar with editing, he was not familiar with WTHR’s style of editing. His first few weeks were so rough adapting to the technology, he was thinking of quitting and going back to Quincy. But he stuck with it because his house back home had already been sold. 

In 1982, Steve would work on a documentary about the Ku Klux-Klan with investigative journalist Tom Cochrun at WTHR. They would film local Klan activity throughout the state of Indiana. They would travel from Irvington, to Elwood, to Evansville, finding out the history of the Klan in the state. Starnes and Cochrun would also interact with active Klan members by interviewing them and filming their rallies. They even filmed at a national Klan rally in Hartford, Connecticut. When Starnes tried to film the middle of the rally some of Klan members got violent with him.  

Starnes & Cochrun’s partnership ended when Cochrun was promoted to the anchor job at WTHR. WTHR would soon change management as well. For Starnes and many others at Channel 13, this began an era of important journalism at the station. 

Starnes would soon begin working with another reporter and investigative journalist, Anne Ryder. Starnes’ work with Ryder was when both of their careers took off. They did multiple documentaries for WTHR during their time together. The first major documentary they did together was when they traveled to India and profiled Mother Teresa. Starnes spoke highly about Ryder, saying that she was the next big reporter in Indianapolis. 

The story with Mother Teresa gave Ryder and Starnes access to pursue any stories of their choosing. Ryder was an anchor for WTHR, and when Ryder was anchoring the news, Starnes was able to cover whatever he wanted for stories or documentaries.  

The next major story for Anne Ryder and Steve Starnes was Children of the Street, a documentary about homeless teenagers in Indianapolis. Another documentary story for Ryder and Starnes was A Time to Heal, which was about the aftermath of the Oklahoma City Bombing. They also made a documentary called Body and Soul, which had Ryder and Starnes follow two women who struggled with eating disorders.  

Starnes was always interested in traveling, even when he was at WGEM in the early years of his career. Starnes had always wanted to see mountains, especially the Rocky Mountains. So, when Starnes had the ability to travel for WTHR, he did so.    

Starnes’ traveling with WTHR took him to some places he had never expected to go to. For one story, Starnes visited Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. He also visited Russia for a week and became the first person ever to bring a camera to Murmansk Naval Base above the Arctic Circle. Starnes followed politician Richard Lugar all around Russia and visited cities that were closed off during the Cold War. Starnes also visited Africa with anchor John Stehr and tried to catch rhinos for the Indianapolis Zoo.  

Steve claimed that his best story that he ever shot and edited at WTHR was To Hell and Back, about three painters who were severely burned when their paint truck caught fire on I-465. The documentary is named after the Audie Murphy movie of the same name. Anne Ryder had wanted to do a story on a hospital burn unit, but cameras were not allowed into that particular area. However, Ryder and Starnes got access to bring a camera into the unit for this story.

Starnes had to gain the trust of the families who were in the burn unit, so that he could capture the moment. He spent many days in the hospital, even missing family time during Thanksgiving and Christmas, because he was passionate about this story. The patience eventually paid off because Starnes got the three gentlemen coming out of their comas and telling their families that they loved them all on camera. Starnes has since stayed in touch with the three burn victims.  

Steve also won a National Headliner Award for Mission Complete with Scott Swan in 2008. The documentary follows a marine from Indianapolis that lost both of his legs while fighting terrorism. They followed the marine out to Washington DC and to physical therapy, with his goal being to walk off the plane when he returned. The marine was able to walk off the plane and get into a wheelchair.  

End of Career

Starnes retired from WTHR in 2009. His last words before retiring were, “The day you’ve seen it all, the day you’ve done it all, and the day you know it all in this business, the next day proves you wrong.” With the new advancements of technology in photography, Starnes figured that it was time to call it a career. Starnes loved his job at WTHR and says that it was the best job that a photojournalist can have. Starnes would be inducted into the Indiana Broadcast Hall of Fame in 2017. Starnes now lives in Greenwood, Indiana, with his wife. Starnes doesn’t travel as much as he once did for WTHR and doesn’t sleep with the phone next to his head anticipating a call for a story. Starnes now spends time with his family and goes to all kinds of events for his grandchildren.  

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By Jackson Powers & Jack Lindner

Edited by Jack Lindner

For more information on the life and career of Steve Starnes, watch his full oral history interview. 

Last Edit: February 7, 2024