Tom Jarriel, a legendary ABC News anchor and reporter who rose to fame for his reporting on the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and the turbulent administration of Richard Nixon, has died at the age of 89.
His family announced his death on Thursday, according to ABC news.
Jarriel was born in Georgia and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana.
His storied journalism career, which spanned nearly four decades, began in 1958 when he joined KPRC in Houston, Texas.
Just seven years later, he joined ABC News and quickly captured the nation’s attention when he covered the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. three years later.
Tom Jarriel, a former anchor and reporter for ABC News, has died at the age of 89
In 1969, Jarriel was promoted to chief White House correspondent at the network, where he covered the Nixon and Ford administrations.
Ten years later, Jarriel became the host of ABC’s Weekend Report and joined the network’s new primetime news show 20/20, reporting on criminal justice and speaking directly to national leaders.
Among his many reports was a critically acclaimed piece on female members of the armed forces who alleged they were raped and sexually assaulted while serving their country.
He also made a series of reports on the fate of orphans in Romania, which he would later call ‘the great, defining story of my career’.
Jarriel (second from the left in the photo) made a name for himself in the channel’s young news program 20/20
During his more than two decades on the program, Jarriel (left) spoke with numerous government officials. He is pictured in 1973 interviewing Ted Kennedy and Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald for a news special on the legacy of former President John F. Kennedy
During his more than two decades at 20/20, Jarriel’s reporting earned him numerous awards and accolades, including six Emmy awards.
Jarriel eventually retired in 2002.
He is now survived by his wife of 57 years, Joan, and three sons.
“We honor the depth and breadth of Jarriel’s 38 years at ABC,” ABC News said reported. ‘We celebrate his sense of honesty and integrity, but above all his humanity.
“On and off the air, Jarriel embodied the best of everyone at ABC News.”
Journalists paid their respects to the longtime reporter on Thursday evening, praising him as a “fearless” and “skilled, calm and steady presence”
Other journalists also paid their respects to the longtime reporter.
Geraldo Rivera said he was “sad to hear” about Jarriel’s passing.
“He was an outstanding, award-winning reporter and a warm colleague at 20/20, a true gentleman,” Rivera wrote on X.
David Guilbault, a former producer for ABC News, CNN and MSNBC.com, also said he was “greatly privileged to have worked with Tom Jarriel at ABC News.
“For a while I was the Senior Producer of the weekend newscasts when Tom was an anchor,” says Guilbault.
‘Tom was the consummate journalist. And he was always a skilled, calm and steady presence.”
Investigative journalist Joseph Trento added that Jarriel was “fearless.”
“It was an honor to know him,” he wrote.