Many local newspeople in the Tampa Bay area — veterans and relative newbies alike — have good memories of Warren Elly, a journalist who spent nearly three decades telling Tampa Bay's stories.That's why tomorrow's event dedicating the media room at Hillsborough County's 13th Judicial Circuit to Elly, who died earlier this year, will likely be packed with members of the media and others wishing to take part in the tribute.
The longtime television reporter's career spanned over four decades, the bulk of which he spent at WTVT Fox 13, covering everything from cops and courts to the goings-on at Kennedy Space Center.
Along the way, he mentored many a young journo and made many a friend.
“He was magnetic. He was energetic, and he really connected with people,” Sean Kinane, assistant news and public affairs director for WMNF Community Radio, told the Tampa Tribune's Anastasia Dawson in April. “His laugh was contagious; just to hear his laugh you could tell he was genuine.”
Elly had served as a volunteer call-in show cohost at WMNF after his 2011 retirement from WTVT.
Dedicating a courthouse media room to Elly makes sense. That courthouse is a place where he likely spent hours, keeping tabs on high-profile trials he covered throughout the years.
Thursday's event starts at 4.