Tom Jarriel Dies: ABC News Correspondent And Anchor Was 89

Tom Jarriel, a former anchor and correspondent for ABC News who became a main stay on the newsmagazine 20/20, has died. He was 89.

Jarriel’s family announced his death on Thursday, ABC News reported.

Jarriel joined the network in 1965, covering the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and later the Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford administrations as chief White House correspondent.

He later anchored the network’s weekend newscast and was a correspondent on 20/20, the network’s newsmagazine that was introduced in 1978.

Per ABC, Jarriel was six Emmy awards for his reporting for the show. He called a report on children in Romanian orphanages “the great, defining moment of my career,” the network said.

Geraldo Rivera, who also was a correspondent for the show, posted on X, “He was an excellent, award winning reporter and gracious colleague on 20/20, a true gentleman.”

Jarriel is survived by his wife Joan and three sons.