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ABC News Correspondent, "20/20"
Bill Ritter joined "20/20" as a correspondent in November 1997.
Mr. Ritter's stories have run the gamut from light-hearted to heart-warming to deadly serious. He investigated the claims of James Van Praagh, the supposed psychic who says he can talk to the dead; he covered the Columbine High shootings; he investigated the phenomenon of patients waking up during surgery; he reported on "slip and fall" scams at casinos across the nation; he reported on a New York man who died while donating his kidney to his wife -- his family says the doctor left the O.R. before the surgery was completed; he examined the effects of parental anger on kids by locating cameras in several homes for several weeks; he debunked some of the so-called urban legends that sprang up in the wake of September 11; and he followed a group of female Army recruits as they went through a grueling nine weeks of basic training.
Mr. Ritter joined ABC News in January 1993. He has been host of "Good Morning America/Sunday" and a correspondent on "Good Morning America." He is also the anchor of the 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. nightly newscasts for WABC-TV Eyewitness News in New York, ABC's flagship owned and operated station, where he has won three Emmy's for his work.
His feature reporting for "Good Morning America" includes revealing interviews with boxers Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, golfers Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, former evangelist Jim Bakker and Peanuts cartoonist Charles Schulz. He reported a five-part series on corporate downsizing and took a look at "Sex Over 50."
Before Joining ABC, Mr. Ritter was a reporter for KCAL-TV, the former Disney-owned independent station in Los Angeles, from June to December 1992, where his "Up Front" segment headlined the station's successful 9:00 p.m. weeknight news broadcast, showcasing his perspective of the day's top national or international story.
Prior to that, he reported on the Rodney King trial and the subsequent Los Angeles riots for the Fox Television Network. From August 1991 through February 1992, Mr. Ritter also served as a reporter for the Fox Network's nationally syndicated show, "Entertainment Daily Journal" (E.D.J.); and from February 1990 to August 1991, he was an investigative reporter for KTTV-TV (Fox Television) in Los Angeles. He also was an anchor for the station's Gulf War coverage.
While serving as a business, then investigative reporter for KNSD-TV (NBC affiliate) in San Diego from February 1987 to January 1990, Mr. Ritter, known for his white-collar crime investigations, captured four Emmy Awards. In 1989 he was honored for his investigative reporting in uncovering a local stock swindle, as well as for his "overall journalistic enterprise." In 1987 he also won in both of these categories, this time for his reports exposing a safety scandal involving killer whales and their trainers at San Diego's Sea World of California. Mr. Ritter also was named NBC Affiliate Reporter of the Year in 1987 and 1988.
Mr. Ritter began his career in print journalism in 1972. He served as a reporter, then business editor, of the San Diego County edition of The Los Angeles Times from February 1984 to January 1987. In 1984 he won The Los Angeles Times Editorial Award for uncovering a $200 million broker fraud in San Diego. He also worked as a reporter and editor for the San Diego Business Journal from June 1980 to January 1984.
Additionally, Mr. Ritter served as chairman of Crash, Inc., a non-profit drug education and prevention organization in San Diego, from 1980 to 1990. He also was on the San Diego State University Business School advisory board in 1984 and 1985.
Mr. Ritter attended San Diego State University, majoring in accounting and economics.
He and his wife, Janny Scott, a reporter for The New York Times, and their two children reside in Manhattan.