Mark Deane, longtime WGNO News team member, killed in motorcycle accident

NEW ORLEANS ( WGNO ) — Longtime WGNO News team member Mark Deane was killed while riding his motorcycle to work on Friday morning . His loss is immeasurable for our newsroom, and given the events of the past three weeks and the recent death of our sports director Ed Daniels , there are simply no words to fully express the sense of emptiness here at the station.

Deane worked at WGNO, on and off, for more than 20 years. He started with the enthusiasm of a kid just out of college. He cheerfully handled whatever tasks were sent his way — shooting, writing or editing stories — and grew to be one of the most skilled people on our staff. Deane was responsible for producing some of WGNO’s most important programs.

Deane graduated from Jesuit High School and Loyola University. He helped lead the stations coverage of major events like Hurricane Katrina. After the storm, Deane was among the journalists who boarded boats to provide stories on the flooded areas of New Orleans. He would also produce our programs marking the anniversary of the storm.

During the height of the COVID-19, Deane produced our special reports on the virus, sometimes weekly, all while following so many of the smaller details of the pandemic, making sure all of the important information was included. He was regularly responsible for providing the perfect video needed to illustrate an often complex story.

And then there were the daily lead stories, the breaking news events that needed someone to move quickly. One of the best examples would be the too numerous cases of street flooding in the city. While our newsroom hustled to get crews where they needed to be, Deane would often have video of some of the affected areas back to the newsroom and available for air before some of us could reach our assigned locations.

As much as we remember Deane for making our newsroom the best it could be, we remember him even more for being a friend. At WGNO, there was nobody better to bring a smile to workers’ faces, even during some of the most difficult times. We are in the middle of one of those difficult times right now. It is not easy, but as we remember Deane and all that he brought us here at WGNO, we are still managing a smile.

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