Tom Vacar Biography
Tom Vacar is an American journalist who serves as a Consumer Editor as well as an Investigative Reporter at KTVU in San Francisco, California since 1991. He is a long-time television and radio consumer and investigative journalist for more than 30 years. Prior to joining KTVU, he had worked in 4 major market TV markets including Cleveland (WJW), San Francisco (KTVU & KGO), and Los Angeles (KCBS & KTTV). Over the years, reporting has given him many remarkable opportunities and memories.
Tom Vacar Age
Tom was born and raised in Salem, Ohio, United States of America. His exact date of birth is not yet known to the public.
Tom Vacar Height
Tom stands at an average height and moderate weight though he has not shared any of his body measurements with the public. He, therefore, has light brown skin, brown eyes, and blonde hair.
Tom Vacar Eduction
Being born and brought up in Salem, Ohio, United States of America, Tom received his high school certificate from Salem High School in Ohio. He thereafter joined Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland where he earned a law degree
Tom Vacar Family, Siblings
Tom was born in Salem, Ohio, United States of America by a single mom in the 1950s and 60s. However, details regarding his parents and siblings are not known to the public.
Tom Vacar Wife
Vacar is a married man. He married his soulmate, Sharon Navratil, in 2009 through a wedding ceremony. Navratil is an award-winning segment and special projects producer at KTVU who in addition works on the Board of Governors of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences San Francisco/Northern California Chapter. However, there is no case of the two having any child.
Tom Vacar Children
Having been in marriage for more than a decade, there are no known records of Tom and his wife Sharon Navratil, having any son or daughter.
Tom Vacar Salary
How much does Tom Vacar who works as an Investigative Reporter make? The average Investigative Reporter salary in California is $72,292 as of January 27, 2022, but the range typically falls between $57,988 and $95,345.
Tom Vacar Net Worth
Tom’s net worth is estimated to be in the range of $4 Million as of 2022. He has accumulated his fortunes through his primary source of income for many years he has been serving as a journalist and in the other businesses he has invested in.
Tom Vacar KTVU
Tom serves as a Consumer Editor as well as an Investigative Reporter at KTVU in San Francisco, California since 1991. He is a long-time television and radio consumer and investigative journalist for more than 30 years. Prior to joining KTVU, he had worked in 4 major market TV markets including Cleveland (WJW), San Francisco (KTVU & KGO), and Los Angeles (KCBS & KTTV). Over the years, reporting has given him many remarkable opportunities and memories.
Over the decades, he has afforded to meet a lot of famous and infamous people. Three of his favorites include Alan Shepard, America’s first astronaut in space, Jim Lovell of Apollo 13, and Right Stuff Legend Chuck Yeager. He was the first reporter to the intersection of L.A.’s Florence and Normandie during the Rodney King Riots where he was attacked but, fortunately, not injured. He has also done stores in Japan, Honduras, the Middle East, and Africa.
For 28 years, Tom ran the Great American Toy Test, a syndicated series of news reports and a half-hour special. In those years, he tested tens of thousands of toys in cities all over America with television partners. He has also done stories on how once nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles were recycled into launchers for communications satellites.
Tom as well covered the round the world journey of the Voyager from Mojave Airport to its landing at Edwards Air Force Base. He in addition covered every major California earthquake; his first was one in Livermore in the early 1980s. The most recent, in Napa last year, earned him the sixth Emmy. For the better part of two years, he often covered the California Energy Crisis which damaged California’s economy a story that enabled him to win an Emmy for Continuing Coverage on that crisis.
He extensively covered two stock market crashes; one in the 1980s and the recent Great Recession. He covered the original dot com boom and bust in the early 2000s and warned people not to fall prey to stocks that seemed to be valueless. He was one of the leading reporters on the PG&E gas explosion and fire in 2010 in San Bruno and provided continuing coverage ever since as PG&E rebuilds its system. From 2016 to 2018, he covered every major woodland fire in much of California.
Tom as well covered the Bay Bridge when it was damaged by an earthquake. 24 years later, after covering its entire 11-year replacement construction. He was there the day it opened. Since then, he has been a leading reporter in covering the many construction issues that still plague it. The current California drought is one of a long line of dry periods he has covered. Tom was the leading reporter on the West Coast port slowdowns that damaged the economy. He covered the West Coast port lockout extensively 12 years ago. Most of his port reports were on the economic value these major infrastructures provide.
Tom Vacar Awards and Achievements
Throughout his career journey, Tom has been awarded many honors, including
- 6 Emmy’s, 5 Golden Mikes
- The Aviation & Space Writer’s Streibig Trophy
- The American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award
- The Society of Professional Journalists Distinguished Public service Award
- An Ohio State Award
- He has also received other national and major market awards including one from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as well as the Internal Revenue Service.
- The American Spirit Honor Medal from the Committee for the Guard & Reserve when he was in the army.
- He was honored to be elected into the Silver Circle of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Tom Vacar Residence
Tom lives in Oakland, California, USA.