Legendary RIAS Berlin station week host TC Colones passes away
Tom Colones, a RIAS Berlin Commission alumni from 1997 who hosted more than a dozen of German journalists at his WSPA Channel 7 station in South Carolina, has died after working
at the station in Spartanburg for 44 years, the station announced on Sunday. Known as “TC”, Colones eagerly volunteered to host German journalists for their “station week” during their RIAS exchange programs twice each year over the last two decades.
“And do have some sad news to pass along tonight from our WSPA family,” station WSPA reported on Sunday. “Photojournalist Tom Colones passed away this weekend at his home in Spartanburg. Tommy, lovingly known to many as ‘TC’, was a staple in the newsroom here at Channel 7 and throughout the community. His work is responsible for bringing you, our viewers, hundreds if not thousands of stories from his 44 years of work here. He was part of our weekend team and was integral ….. ‘TC’ was also a veteran and had an affinity for WW2. He visited Normandy yearly on D-Day and of course he made many friends along the way. His smile was infectious, his stories memorable and his loyalty unwavering. We will miss Tommy dearly and our hearts go out to his family, friends and all who are feeling his loss.”
Colones was a larger-than-life friend of the RIAS Berlin Commission who regularly went far and above the call of duty to make sure the German journalists got the most out of their Station Week experiences in South Carolina. Some of those he hosted included: Andreas Wiese (ZDF), Louisa Maria Giersberg (NDR), Laura Goudkamp (BR), Maria Regis (MDR), Mirja Fiedler (NDR), and Vanessa Luenenschloss (BR). Colones also recruited five fellow Channel 7 staffers to take part in the RIAS exchange programs in Europe, including Heather Sullivan.
“He was my host (in 2019) and the kindest person you could imagine,” said Maria Regis. “When he picked me up from the airport, he greeted me with a huge gift basket full of groceries. He was eager to make my visit at his station WSPA TV as interesting and comfortable as possible. He arranged for me to meet all of his co-workers and accompany some of them when they did their news stories. We also did some fun interviews together and he showed me around the Spartanburg area….He stressed multiple times that he wanted to host as many German journalists as possible since his exchange with the RIAS programme in 1997 had given him so much. He always wanted to give back. Some of the last things he texted me were about his plans to come to Germany and visit all of the journalists he had hosted. I am sad he never got to do that. I am so grateful to have met him and deeply sad that he passed away.” Louisa Maria Giersberg added: “He was a great colleague and a wonderful mentor – as my RIAS-host in Spartanburg he did everything to make my stay there as interesting and fulfilling as possible…. I learned a lot about American news broadcasting. TC was a kind and gentle giant, always smiling, always interested in others… his death is an enormous loss.”
Colones took part in one of the very first RIAS programs to Germany in the Fall of 1997 and stayed in contact with many of the other alumni on his program. He was a regular donor to the RIAS alumni program as well, helping the organisation to raise funding for future fellows.
“Thanks for the opportunity to again allow me to host another fantastic RIAS journalist,” Colones wrote in an email after one recent hosting of a German journalist. “It’s something I and our members of the newsroom look forward to these last many years . I go and pick them up in the morning or whenever my day starts and always make sure I am with them, or if they want to go out with a certain reporter. We always have dinner together at night┬ to talk about the day or if they want to experience something in our county. They are my guests and I do all I can to make them feel more than welcome here. I always make sure to give them access to all our station has to offer: meetings , talking with fellow journalists at the station – and they get to see editorial meetings. For me, this is a joy and something I look forward to! I have learned much from my guests. I have been so lucky to have hosted so many great German journalists over the years and I have kept in touch with many of them. It’s great to see where they are in their daily lives since their time here.”
