WTOP Washington has shared shocking news that evening anchor Dimitri Sotis, whose deep, warm voice informed and kept listeners in the D.C. region company during storms, elections and breaking news, has died at the age of 55..
Dimitri Sotis (1975-2025) |
“It is with the utmost sadness and shock that I write this email to let you all know our friend and coworker, Dimitri Sotis, has passed away,” said Joel Oxley, general manager of WTOP and president of Hubbard Radio Washington, D.C., in an email to staff early Sunday.
Sotis was found unresponsive in his home in Alexandria, Virginia, late Saturday night.
Sotis was the evening anchor at WTOP for more than two decades; listeners often heard his distinctive timbre weekdays from 7 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
He informed listeners about the news that affected their communities, helped them navigate weather emergencies, and delivered breaking news, such as the 2024 election. He not only ensured listeners got the latest results and the most up-to-date developments, but added context and perspectives.
Sotis conducted countless live interviews with newsmakers and conveyed an earnest interest in any subject matter. He asked probing questions in a cordial way that got to the answers listeners needed to know.
Afternoon drive anchor Shawn Anderson said Sotis “especially shined in breaking news situations, where you have to throw out the script and guide listeners through the fog and confusion.”
Sotis was among the anchors honored with the 2012 National Edward R. Murrow Award for best large-market radio newscast for the coverage of the U.S. mission that led to the killing of Osama bin Laden.
Sotis joined WTOP in 1999. WTOP national security correspondent J.J. Green remembered Sotis approaching him in a hotel lobby in the early 1990s at a journalism conference and job fair. Green referred him for an available internship at WMAL, where Green was working at the time.
“A month later he started working and never looked back,” Green said. “We have had an amazing brotherhood since that day. And I have watched him become the best in our business. I told him many times he was the best news anchor in America, and I truly believe that.”
Born Dimitri Sotiropoulos on Dec. 6, 1969, he grew up in Muncie, Indiana, where he said he developed a love for his craft.
“Dimitri has known from age 10 that this is what he wanted to do. He was the kid in school with the pretend radio station in his basement,” according to his WTOP biography.
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