Longtime Washington D.C. television journalist, Joe Krebs, died following a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer, he was 78. Krebs died at his home in Rockville, Maryland Tuesday.
Krebs was a lawyer and a Navy officer before he decided to become a television news reporter. He got his start in Greensboro, N.C. In 1973 before moving to Baltimore’s WBAL-TV.
Krebs came to Washington in 1980 as a reporter for WRC-TV (Channel 4). Leveraging his previous experience as a lawyer, Krebs was able to add a new dynamic to the station, utilizing his legal expertise to cover the trial of John Hinckley Jr.; the naval espionage case of John Walker and members of his family; the trial of D.C. drug kingpin Rayful Edmond.
“Joe was refreshingly unaffected, approaching TV news without any of the ego or arrogance or swagger that affects too many who make their living on a stage,” Channel 4’s Wendy Rieger said in a segment that aired Tuesday.
Krebs is survived by his wife, two daughters, five sisters, three brothers, and three grandchildren.
