Award-winning photo journalist Jo Ann Steck — who broke barriers in male-dominated newsrooms by capturing some of the most notable moments in recent United States history — has died. She was 73.
Steck died on July 11 after a yearslong battle with ovarian cancer, according to her former Associated Press colleague and longtime friend Dan Hansen.
Steck’s three-decade career spanning The Associated Press, The New York Times and the White House, took her all over the country and world — and thousands of miles away from where she was born in Hershey, Pennsylvania. She used her shrewd judgment and vision to lead teams of award-winning journalists to capture both profound joy and unspeakable tragedy alike, documenting natural disasters, the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, historic sporting events and more.
But those who worked with Steck, often calling her “Jodie,” remember her for her unique ability to lead.
Steck worked for local outlets in Arizona, where she went to college at Arizona State University, before joining the AP in Los Angeles in 1980.
Amy Sancetta remembers meeting Steck in 1987, when Steck led Sancetta and a small team of journalists to cover a plane crash in Detroit for the AP. Racing to the scene, Steck coordinated the team’s efforts with walkie-talkies to swiftly deliver images of the heartbreaking event to the world.
Despite the rush, Sancetta said, Steck never forgot to make each person feel valued.
“She saw a lot of really horrific stuff, but she found ways as a group to make us laugh and remind us of our humanity,” Sancetta said.
From then on, Steck became a mentor to Sancetta, who was still a relatively new employee and one of the very few women in the newsroom.
Sancetta said her feelings towards Steck were not unique; Steck’s bold humor, clear vision and unmistakable moxie made her a trailblazer for many young women breaking into the male-dominated field.
“As a young photographer, she found a way to make you feel like you belonged,” Sancetta said. “She paved a path for an awful lot of us.”
Steck went on to work at The New York Times, The Santa Rosa Press Democrat and The Orange County Register, where she ushered in a new era of digital photography, before returning to the AP. To this day, her colleagues at the AP from that time recall admiringly how well she continued to cover the biggest events across the United States, such as the O.J. Simpson murder case and the Super Bowl.
Later, Steck was the deputy director of photography at The Dallas Morning News, where she led a team of photographers who earned a Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography in 2004 for coverage of the invasion in Iraq.
Cheryl Diaz Meyer, one of two photographers who took the photos that won the prize, said that Steck was exceptionally methodical and made sure that all photos were presented with nuance.
“You knew that once Jodie touched it, it was good,” Meyer said.
Steck’s work was recognized far beyond the newsroom. She served as the White House deputy director of photography under former President George W. Bush in his second term, from 2005 to 2009.
“She got to know everybody,” recalled Dan Hansen, a photographer who worked with Steck at both the AP and the White House.
Hansen said Steck would remember the names of every single person she met, ranging from interns to White House cleaning staff to high-ranking members of Bush’s administration.
Hansen, who met Steck when the two were students at Arizona State University in 1976, said that Steck was like that the whole time he knew her.
“She would go into a room, and she would come out with five new friends,” he said. “Because she was so funny, she was so charming — she just had that ability.”
Steck retired in Port Orange, Florida, where she was a competitive pickleball player, according to an obituary provided by her family. She is survived by her partner, Susan Matthews, and her son.
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Riddle reported from Montgomery, Alabama. Riddle is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
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