Joe Little

Joe Little has been sharing San Diego’s stories since 2002. You’ll likely spot the proud Multimedia Journalist and Chula Vista resident carrying his own camera and tripod through the South Bay. When he’s not at NBC7, Joe travels the country with his Garden Gnome teaching other journalists and students his strategies for better storytelling, on-camera performances, and time management.

The 12-time Emmy recipient was a finalist for the National Press Photographer Association’s Photojournalism Award for Reporting in 2017. His creative stories have taken viewers as far away as Pakistan; to a story completely contained inside a dumpster.

Joe's mantra: "You always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take."

It has served him well since 1999 as he zigzagged across the country as a television news reporter and anchor with stops in Hagerstown, Maryland; Johnstown, Pennsylvania; San Diego and Carlsbad, California. He joined the faculty at the NPPA News Video Workshop in Norman, Oklahoma in 2013. Coincidentally, that was also the last year Joe used a stick mic. His other mantra: “Don’t be a Garden Gnome.” It’s a thing with him.

Joe has appeared in a number of television news textbooks. His accounts of his 9/11 coverage were also included in Covering Catastrophe: Broadcast Journalists Report on 9/11. Joe was only four miles away from Shanksville, Pennsylvania when United Flight 93 crashed. Joe was one of the first reporters on the scene.

Joe received his Masters from Syracuse University in 1999. However, he credits George Mason University for building a strong foundation for his career. In 1998, he earned his BA in Speech Communication. While at Mason, Joe was a proud member of the Men's Basketball Team (Career Totals: 2 points, 3 rebounds). In 2010, the Department of Communication and the College of Humanities & Social Sciences named Joe the Alumnus of the Year.

In his free time, Joe loves playing basketball and spending time with his boys, Mason and Tyler, and his fiancée, NBC7 Morning Reporter Audra Stafford.