Former ABC News Senior Correspondent Was 69
Jim Avila, a longtime correspondent for ABC News and NBC News whose coverage ranged from the White House to immigration to major cases in California and elsewhere, has died. He was 69 years old.
ABC News Live anchor Diane Macedo told viewers Thursday that Avila died after a long illness. He said that he faced health problems due to the kidney transplant donated by his brother.
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Avila served in the White House from 2012 to 2016, during which time he won the White House Correspondents’ Association’s Merriman Smith Memorial Award for reporting on the reopening of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba.
Avila joined the network in 2004 and became a senior law and justice reporter to cover major cases, including those of Jerry Sandusky and Penn State and Michael Jackson. He later served as a reporter. 20/20He specialized in justice and consumer research and was a senior national correspondent for ABC News based in Los Angeles.
Avila left ABC News in 2021, but two years later joined ABC affiliate KGTV-TV in San Diego as a senior investigative reporter.
Prior to ABC News, Avila was a national correspondent for NBC News. During this assignment, he covered the aftermath of 9/11 and reported from Iraq and Afghanistan. He was previously an anchor and investigative reporter for KNBC in Los Angeles from 1994 to 1996. He was also a political reporter and anchor for WBBM-TV in Chicago, a general assignment reporter and weekend anchor for WLS-TV in Chicago, and the San Jose bureau chief for KPIX-TV in San Francisco.
In his career, he has won two National Emmy Awards and five Edward R. Murrow Awards, among other awards.
“We send our heartfelt condolences to his family, including his three children Jamie, Jenny and Evan, and thank him for his many contributions and unwavering commitment to seeking the truth,” ABC News president Almin Karamehmedovic wrote to colleagues.
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