Two longtime newsroom employees from KXTV during its Eyewitness News and News10 eras have died

Jan Minagawa (left) and Hugh McChord (right) have passed away. Both were long time employees of KXTV in Sacramento.
By Dan Adams
 
Jan Minagawa who was hired in the late 1970s at the then CBS affiliate in Sacramento died December 24 at a Seattle hospital. His brother reported that Minagawa suffered a heart attack at home earlier Christmas Eve and never regained consciousness.  Jan was a well known general assignment reporter in Northern California from the 1970 to mid 1980s.  He eventually moved from the field to become the producer for News10‘s early evening newscasts.  He was producing the 5:00 show on October 17, 1989 when at 5:04, the Loma Prieta earthquake hit and he stayed in the booth for hours during nonstop live news coverage.  His brother posted that a celebration of Jan’s life will be held on Friday, January 23rd at 6 pm at the Marriott Hotel at 11315 NE 12th Street, Kirkland WA. Anyone planning on attending is asked to confirm at rahnminagawa@gmail.com.
 
On Thursday, January 15, friends of Hugh McChord reported that the former News10 photographer died earlier in the week. Friends say he apparently suffered a heart attack. In 1983, McChord, a stage and screen actor, began his TV news career as a photographer for KMPH in Fresno. Two years later he was hired by News10 in Sacramento as a videotape editor before becoming a fulltime news photographer. According to IMDb, after leaving KXTV, McChord became the director of photography for “The Legal Edge,” a nationally syndicated show for which he received two Emmys. By 2005, he relocated to Los Angeles where for nine years he was the primary entertainment videographer for Fox. In 2014, IMDb reports he moved to Florida where he was hired as the primary cameraman for the NFL‘s coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He is survived by his wife and two daughters. He was 68-years-old. A GoFundMe account has been established to help cover the costs of a funeral and provide support for his family. 
Jan Minagawa, well known general assignment reporter in Northern California from the 1970 to mid 1980s (Courtesy Jan Minagawa Facebook page)
Hugh McChord, former News10 photographer