MAINE, USA — Chris Costa is a Multimedia Journalist and Anchor at NEWS CENTER Maine in Portland, ME. He is also the station's Chief Storyteller, mentoring his colleagues.
Chris returned to Maine after about a year and a half at our sister station in Houston, TX, KHOU 11.
There, Chris was immediately dispatched to cover the mass shooting in Midland/Odessa, breaking news of the FBI raid on the shooter’s home, and documenting the grief and simultaneous resilience of the Permian Basin community.
He was also tapped to lead the coverage of the historic NASA/SpaceX launch of the Demo-2 mission, which sent US astronauts in US rockets from US soil for the first time in more than a decade. Chris detailed the Dragon capsule’s specifications, its flight path, as well as the crew, and the mission.
Chris also covered the death of Houston native George Floyd, as well as the marches, protests, and calls for social justice.
He also became one of the lead reporters on the COVID-19 pandemic in Houston, which has the country’s largest medical center and learned quickly about hospital operations, public health surveillance, and epidemiology, to explain to viewers how the city and surrounding counties were managing patients and cases.
Chris has won a National Edward R. Murrow award in 2018 for a hard news story about officer-involved shootings. He has also won two Boston/New England Regional Emmy awards as “Outstanding Videojournalist.”
During his first stint at NEWS CENTER Maine, Chris traveled to Houston twice, to report on the funerals of former President George H. W. Bush, and former First Lady Barbara Bush. He also covered the New England Patriots playoff runs and Super Bowl LII and LIII appearances. He also traveled to Central Georgia as Hurricane Irma forced people to evacuate from their homes.
Chris got his start in news at KAGS HD in Bryan, TX: where football is king. Stories about Texas A&M University, even the football team, could lead a newscast. Johnny Manziel and Mike Evans are just two of the stars Chris covered in the heart of Aggieland, while also cutting his teeth as a news multimedia journalist. Chris was later promoted to the station’s 10 p.m. co-anchor/producer.
If you're trying to avoid that conference call or staff meeting, or just kill a few spare hours, ask Chris about the Patriots, Star Wars, or classic rock, and tell your boss "something came up."
Chris has a hard time sitting still, so he surfs, plays and coaches lacrosse and hits the gym or looks for a nice place to hike. If it's rainy, he'll stay inside and bang on his drums (all day).
Chris lives in southern Maine with his wife, Ashley, their daughter, Cohen, and the hairiest member of their family: Kai (their dog).
