The broadcast journalist died “after a long illness.”

Jim Avila, former ABC News correspondent, dies at 69

The broadcast journalist died "after a long illness."

By Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on *Entertainment Tonight* and Popsugar.

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on November 13, 2025 12:44 p.m. ET

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Jim Avila. Credit:

Jim Avila, former ABC News senior correspondent, has died. He was 69.

ABC News Live shared the news on Thursday, with anchor Diane Macedo paying tribute to the former senior correspondent. Avila "passed away after a long illness," Macedo said. A cause of death was not revealed.

"Jim was an L.A.-based correspondent specializing in politics, justice, law, and consumer investigations for nearly two decades," Macedo told viewers as she detailed Avila's extensive history with the network.

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She continued, "He also worked in the White House and broke the news that the U.S. and Cuba had reopened diplomatic relations. That story earned him the prestigious Merriman Award from the White House Correspondents Association.

"After leaving ABC News, Jim joined the ABC affiliate in San Diego as a senior investigative reporter covering a wide range of stories with depth and fairness," Macedo added.

The anchor noted how Avila faced health challenges "with courage," including a "kidney transplant donated by his brother."

President of ABC News Almin Karamehmedovic said in a statement, "We send our heartfelt condolences to his family, including his three children, Jamie, Jenny, and Evan, and we thank him for his many contributions and unwavering commitment to seeking out the truth."

Avila began his broadcast career at KCBS Radio in San Francisco in 1973, as managing editor and was later promoted to bureau chief. He worked at multiple local TV stations including a stint as anchor and investigative reporter at KNBC Los Angeles from 1994 to 1996, WBBM-TV, the CBS owned station in Chicago, WLS, the ABC owned station in Chicago, and KPIX in San Francisco.

He worked as a White House correspondent at ABC News from 2012 to 2016, and had been senior law and justice correspondent, covering the trials of Jerry Sandusky, Michael Jackson, and O.J. Simpson, among others.

Avila also served as a national correspondent at the NBC Nightly News before joining the ABC News team. He left the network in 2021, following his kidney transplant. He started working at ABC's San Diego affiliate KGTV as a senior investigative reporter in December 2023.

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According to his ABC News official biography, Avila earned numerous awards, including two National Emmy Awards and five Edward R. Murrow Awards, the biography said. His work also won him the prestigious Cine Golden Eagle Award, the Mongerson Prize for Investigative Reporting and five Chicago-area Emmy Awards in the category of Spot News.

"In 1999, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists honored him with reporter of the year," the biography reads. "In addition, he garnered three Peter Lisagor Awards from the Headline Club of Chicago, winning for his coverage of the Peru drug wars and the death of Mayor Harold Washington, and was named Best Reporter of 1989."

Avila was also named a 2019 Hall of Fame honoree by National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

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Source: “EW TV”