About the blogger

Steve Douglass is an author, investigative journalist, technology expert, and self-described “stealth chaser.” Many people consider him a leading figure in the niche world of military monitoring.

He works as the chief photojournalist for ABC 7 in Amarillo, Texas. His skill in tracking and interpreting communications has helped break major national and international stories for ABC News, CBS News, CNN, the Associated Press, and others.

Douglass was among the first to photograph the breakup of the Space Shuttle Columbia as it re-entered over Texas. He was also the one who alerted news outlets when a Russian submarine went down in the Atlantic after a missile-compartment fire.

On 9/11, he monitored the urgent aviation communications unfolding that morning and relayed what he heard to reporters as the FAA and the military tried to sort hijacked aircraft from regular passenger flights.

His first book, The Comprehensive Guide to Military Monitoring, is widely viewed as the standard reference for intercepting military communications.

Douglass has written on stealth technology, aviation, astronomy, and emerging tech for Aircraft Illustrated (UK) and Popular Science, and has contributed behind the scenes to Aviation Week & Space Technology, a core publication in the defense and aviation world. He has also written for Monitoring Times and Popular Communications, both aimed at radio-monitoring enthusiasts.

His expertise has made him the focus of a Wired magazine profile and segments on NBC’s Unsolved Mysteries, CBS News, and Michael Moore’s TV Nation. He has appeared in ten Discovery and Learning Channel programs on “black projects,” and more recently weighed in as an expert on the Stephenville UFO sightings for Weird or What.

Philip Patton’s 1998 book Dreamland, an exposé on Area 51, includes an entire chapter on Douglass, who also helped fact-check the project.

Before his current role, Douglass worked as a photographer for the Amarillo Globe-News. His photo illustrations earned recognition in the National Press Photographers Association’s Pictures of the Year competition in 1988. He later became a freelance photographer and journalist and ran his own news and research business, The Reporter’s Edge.

Although he’s often linked with UFO topics, Douglass doesn’t call himself a ufologist. He approaches unidentified aerial phenomena and advanced military technology as a journalist shaped in part by a childhood encounter with what would now be called a UAP. His focus is evidence and scientific explanation.

He also works professionally as a photographer, videographer, writer, video editor, and graphic artist.

In his spare time, Douglass chases storms and serves as a volunteer spotter for the National Weather Service. He recently worked as a location scout and researcher for Florentine Films (Ken Burns) on The Dust Bowl, which aired on PBS in 2012. In 2013, he joined KVII-TV full-time as a photojournalist.