Wendy Curtis is one of Rhode Island’s first female news photographers and stage 4 breast cancer survivor. She won an Emmy Award for her series “Wendy’s Story” which followed her treatment to help others through breast cancer. Our paths are very similar. I interned at Channel 12 for a year. I also had breast cancer and wrote a book to help others. In 2024 we finally met. 2 peas in a pod .
LA: You went to Marietta College. Did you study Journalism?
WC: I was a Communications major with a minor in History. I always wanted to be a teacher but thought I’d make more money in television. I worked at the radio station there and they also had a community TV station that I worked at.
LA: After graduating did you go right to Channel 12? I read you started there as a receptionist .
WC: After graduating, I came back to Rhode Island and worked at radio station WARV AM which was a Christian Station in Warwick. I worked there for two years as a DJ but I was always looking for a job in television. I started as a receptionist at Channel 12. I kept going to the news director and saying I wanted to be a news photographer and he’d say “No, girls don’t do that kind of stuff.“ I beat him down. After six months he put me on a three-month probationary period. He said, “If you mess up, that’s it!” I carried around 80lbs of gear to any given story. I was at City Hall with Buddy Cianci, I was at the Statehouse at rallies including the Banking Crisis. There I was with my camera. I loved being part of it. I was at fires and murder scenes. I made it through my three-month probation. I proved him wrong.
LA: What made you decide you wanted to be a news photographer vs a reporter or anchor?
WC: “I didn’t have to wear lipstick” I’d rather be the one down and dirty.
LA: What was your most memorable or challenging news assignments?
WC: There have been several. I was the first one at a crime scene. The reporter and I got out and the cops yelled, “Get down!!” as shots were being fired. That was one of the first times we did “Live Breaking News”. Another story was a fatal accident on 95 that I heard on the scanner. I pulled over, got out my camera and went to the scene. I was looking for a car. It turned out it a was a man who had jumped off the overpass and was hit three times. I was standing in the middle of his blood. In my car I carried 3 coats, 3 pairs of boots, suits and orange vests. My car had a bag of everything I could possibly need.
LA: Did you have many challenges being a woman in a mainly male dominated field?
WC: Yes and no. They all thought it was “kinda cute.” I told them, “Don’t touch my stuff or my camera.” They were not used to having a chic on the scene at all but I held my own and they all respected me. I wasn’t a “wussy girl.” I was a tough girl. It was challenging. I broke the barriers of it being a guy’s job. I’m the first and longest running female news photographer in New England.
LA: You were 34 when you got diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. Did they find it during a routine mammogram? Were you in disbelief? I cried for three days when they told me I had to have chemo and I would lose my hair. The doctors told you, you wouldn’t make it to 40?
WC: I had told my doctor for a year that I felt a lump. He didn’t do anything because he said I was too young. Finally when they checked it with a mammogram and ultrasound he said “Yeah, you’re in big trouble.” In four days they had me in the hospital for a mastectomy and all my lymph nodes were taken out. That ended my shooting career. It was on my right side. They said, “Good luck to you it’s stage 4. You probably won’t make it to 40.” I was a photographer for about 10 years before I got diagnosed. They didn’t make cameras for left hands, only the right. I went back to work after about 10 months. When I went back, I went into editing. I wasn’t allowed to carry more than 20lbs on my right side. It was awful. I did editing for about 30 years. It’s been a run.
LA: Tell me about “Wendy’s Story” which won an Emmy Award.
WC: One of the things that I started doing was specialty reporting with our medical reporter. We decided we were going to start a journey. Every day for the month of October we did a “Wendy Story” during my treatment. Everywhere I went people were coming up to me about how my story helped them. While it was a really trying time, I felt it helped a lot of people. We also won an Edward R. Murrow Award which was a national award for awareness.
LA: I saw you did WBFF New England Fitness contests. How did you get into that?
WC: Challenge yourself every day. I’ve always been a fitness buff and one of my girlfriends started training for it. I got myself a trainer and started training. I had to show myself that I could do it. I did competitions for about two years. I was the oldest one. The other girls were half my age. I was in my mid- 50s and they were all about 25.
LA: After 40 years doing what you love, what finally made you retire?
WC: The end of the story was summer was coming. I retired on May 31st and it was a great, great run. I had 40 years under my belt. I met the man of my dreams three years ago and I felt there was so much out there to do together. That’s what we’ve been doing and it’s been awesome. The next day after I retired Ray proposed to me. I couldn’t be happier.
LA: You’re venturing off into hot sauce tell me about this.
WC: This is our next venture. We started with one garden which we are expanding. I have the time to do this now that I’m retired. We won a hot sauce competition at Ocean Mist. Hot sauce… that’s the next thing.
LA: When you’re not working with your fiancé at The Ocean Mist, bottling your hot sauce, going to your favorite beaches and riding with Ray on his motorcycle, what else do you like to do for fun and what’s your favorite Rhode Island restaurant ?
WC: I love a good book, I love gardening, playing in the dirt and feeding my birds and I can do all of these things right at my house. I’d have to say my favorite restaurant is Coast Guard house in Narragansett.
