Joe Torres
After high school, Joe continued his education at SUNY Brockport, where he earned a B.S. in Communications. Along with his wife Fran and their two boys, Joe still lives in the town where he grew up.
Joe joined the Eyewitness News team as a general assignment reporter in 1996. Throughout the last two decades he has established himself as one of the premier street reporters here in the nation's #1 television market. Versatility is his strength. Crime, politics, religion, education, transportation, business, whatever the subject, Joe has covered it all with an engaging and energetic style that fellow New Yorkers have come to know and love.
Perhaps most memorable for viewers has been Joe's extensive coverage of Pope's John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis. Before the death of John Paul II, Joe followed the globe-trotting Pontiff on his trips to Cuba, Mexico, and the Holy Land, providing New Yorkers with local angles to worldly events. Joe was at the Vatican for the Pope's Silver Anniversary and for his death, when millions flocked to Rome to say goodbye to the spiritual leader. Joe was at St. Peter's Square in April of 2005 when the white smoke from the Sistine Chapel informed the world of the election of Pope Benedict the XVI. Three years later Joe provided in-depth coverage of Pope Benedict's visit to New York. Joe returned to the Vatican and St. Peter's Square in March of 2013 for the historic election of Pope Francis, the church's very first Pontiff from Latin America.
Two days a week Joe comes in from the street and heads to the anchor desk. Each Saturday and Sunday evening Joe serves as Co-Anchor of the 5, 6 and 11 o'clock editions of Eyewitness News This Weekend.
Joe also serves as Host of 'Tiempo,' a 30-minute public affairs program aimed at the ever-growing Latino population in the New York metropolitan area. 'Tiempo' airs each Sunday morning at 11:30.
Joe's distinctive storytelling ability garnered him a Peabody Award and the Edward R. Murrow Award for his reports on the world-changing events of September 11th. Joe also earned an Emmy Award for his coverage of the Greenpoint Gas Tank Implosions in 2001.
Joe started his television career in 1987 as an NBC Page in New York. His first reporting job was at WSAV-TV in Savannah, Georgia where he served as a general assignment reporter and beat reporter covering county government. Joe then moved to ABC affiliate WNEP-TV in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania to work as a Consumer Reporter, general assignment reporter and Weekend Anchor. In 1992 Joe landed a job as the Jersey Shore correspondent for Disney/ABC-owned WPVI-TV in Philadelphia.
Joe's Stories
Concern over air quality with congestion pricing in South Bronx, some parents say
Ask people in the Bronx about the MTA's congestion pricing plan and it's not traffic and tie-ups that worry the moms and dads there. It's the health of their children that keeps them up at night.
Tiempo 12/01/24: New Jersey family on a mission to fight poverty in Dominican Republic
The family created the Caimito City Foundation in 2013. The organization collects food and school supplies to send to families in a rural town called El Caimito in the Dominican Republic.
Man shot sitting in Maserati in Harlem, police searching for 2 suspects
Police are looking for 2 suspected in the attempted carjacking and shooting of a 32-year-old man sitting in his Maserati early Wednesday morning.
Family speaks out after human remains found in Georgia could be linked to missing New York couple
A family is speaking out after a discovery that could help solve the mystery of a couple from Westchester County who vanished over four decades ago.
Tiempo 11/24/24: Boricua College celebrates 50-year anniversary; Saturday night youth soccer program
The four-year, accredited institution employs one of the largest concentrations of Latino bilingual professionals in New York City.
Tiempo 11/17/24: NYC Immigrant Affairs Commissioner discusses Trump's plan for mass deportations
President-elect Donald Trump's promised immigration plan calls for mass deportations, sparking fear and anxiety in many communities across the city.
Puerto Ricans in New York City furious over comedian's remarks at Trump rally at MSG
Approach a Puerto Rican in New York and play the video of Sunday night's incendiary comments about their homeland, then watch the fire ignite.
Comedian's remarks about Puerto Rico during Trump rally at Madison Square Garden spark backlash
Elon Musk, Tucker Carlson, and Hulk Hogan were some of the speakers who took the stage Saturday before former President Trump - but it was a short set from a comedian named Tony Hinchcliffe that sparked immediate backlash.
Tiempo 10/27/24: Key issues important to Latino voters in the 2024 presidential election
A recent national poll on what issues are important to Latino voters found that inflation and the cost of living are top issues. Immigration and abortion rights were also important issues to those surveyed.
Tiempo 10/20/24: Shedding a light on New York City's street vendors and the fight to get a license
The NYC Street Vendor Project recently took party in a documentary that sheds light on the city's vendors and their plight to get a license. Some vendors have been waiting for more than 10 years for a permit.