Local TV station News 4 San Antonio is mourning the loss of a veteran journalist and national correspondent, the brother of one of their own longtime reporters.
Jim Avila passed away at 70 years old after a long illness, the station reported on Thursday, November 13. His brother, investigative reporter Jaie Avila, has been with News 4 San Antonio since 2004. According to the station, Jaie had donated a kidney to his brother in 2018, which allowed him to see the marriage of one of his children and the birth of two grandchildren.
According to News 4, Jaie regarded his brother as an “outstanding reporter” who was “dedicated to his career” and family. He said his brother “inspired me to get into the news business and in many other areas of my life.”
Before he became Senior National Correspondent for ABC News, Jim was a reporter at CBS Chicago and KNBC in Los Angeles, where he was the principal reporter for the O.J. Simpson trial. He was also a correspondent for NBC News. During his time at ABC, he reported from the Obama White House and was an investigative journalist. He won the White House Correspondents’ Association’s Merriman Smith Memorial Award for his breaking coverage of the U.S. and Cuba’s reopened diplomatic relationship. Throughout his career, he also won two National Emmy Awards, five Edward R. Murrow Awards, the CINE Golden Eagle Award and others.
After leaving ABC News in 2021, Jim became a senior investigative reporter at ABC affiliate KGTV-TV (ABC 10)Â in San Diego.
According to News 4, Jaie said Jim was “especially proud of being inducted into the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Hall of Fame during a ceremony here in San Antonio in 2019.” In a statement, the NAHJ said Avila was “a trailblazing television journalist whose distinguished career in broadcast news spanned decades and set the standard for investigative and justice reporting.”
“He championed the next generation of Latino journalists and consistently showed up for the community that embraced him,” the statement reads.
ABC television journalist Jim Avila (from left) with former mayor and HUD secretary Henry Cisneros, filmaker Robert Rodriguez and ABC news correspondent John Quinones during the San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists annual awards gala at the Marriott Rivercenter on Aug. 8, 2014. Cisneros was awarded the 2014 Community Service Award, Rodriguez the Corazon de Oro Award and Quinones the Henry Guerra Lifetime Achievement Award at the gala. (Express-News file photo)
In a post on X, former CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta said Jim was “a terrific journalist. We covered the Obama WH together. He broke some big stories so you had to be on your toes when he was around. But Jim was more than a competitor. He was a friend who was always available to offer his advice. Jim often talked about how much he loved his family. RIP Jim. We will miss you.”
KTLA anchor Frank Buckley called Avila “one of the greats” in a post on X. He continued, saying he was “someone who cared deeply about journalism, his friends, his family. I will miss him.”
Austin Grabish, investigative reporter at ABC 10, said in a post on X that the industry had lost “a true legend.”
“Jim fought a hard health battle the past year. A true news man till the very end, he will be remembered for his wisdom, humor and dedication to journalism,” Grabish wrote.
MySA reached out to News 4 San Antonio for comment, but did not hear back at the time of publication.
This article originally published at Veteran News 4 San Antonio reporter mourns brother’s death after illness battle.