Jim Avila, longtime ABC News senior correspondent born James Joseph Simon, dies at 70

Jim Avila, a former longtime ABC News senior correspondent, whose investigative journalism earned him several of the most prestigious awards in broadcast news, has died. He was 70.

His death after a long illness was announced internally by ABC News President Almin Karamehmedovic.

“Jim was a gifted journalist and a generous colleague,” Karamehmedovic said in an email to staff.

Avila had also a been “20/20” correspondent based in Los Angeles before departing from the network in 2021. He specialized in politics, justice, law and consumer investigations. He had previously covered the White House from 2012 to 2016, during President Barack Obama’s second term.

“He won the prestigious Merriman Award from the White House Correspondents Association for breaking the news that the United States and Cuba had reopened diplomatic relations,” according to his ABC News official biography.

According to Wikipedia, Avila was born James Joseph Simon in Los Angeles on July 26, 1955, to James and Eva (née Avila) Simon, and grew up in a Chicago suburb. His father also worked in broadcasting, as a host and executive in talk radio. Avila used his mother’s maiden name during his career to pay tribute to his Mexican ancestry.

“As the Senior Law and Justice Correspondent, he has covered every major trial from Jerry Sandusky and Penn State to Michael Jackson, OJ Simpson and countless others,” the biography said. “He led reports on immigration, making several trips to the southern border to document stories of immigrants, and also covered the death of Freddie Gray and civil unrest in Baltimore.”

He 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.