David Kerley is a correspondent for ABC News based in Washington, DC. Kerley, who joined the network in 2004, contributes regularly to all ABC News broadcasts, including "World News," "Good Morning America" and "Nightline," and ABC News' digital properties, including ABC News Radio, ABC News NOW and ABCNews.com.
Most recently Kerley has reported on the 2012 Republican Presidential race. He also covered the battles over health care reform, the debt crisis and battles over taxes on Capitol Hill. He's traveled to every continent expect Antarctica for ABC News, following Presidents, and reporting on the war in Iraq.
Since joining ABC News, Kerley has covered breaking news stories, including recently Hurricane Irene as it slammed into the Northeast. He's reported on several deadly mining disasters in West Virginia and was the first ABC Correspondent on the scene of the Virginia Tech shooting.
During a half dozen assignments in Iraq, Kerley covered the beginning of the "Sons of Iraq" movement which helped end hostilities. He was there as U.S. forces handed control over to the Iraqi military. Kerley broke news on adulterated products from China (lead paint on toys and contaminated pet food), and has reported from China on several occasions. While he hasn't made it to Antarctica, he did report from the Arctic as a U.S. Navy submarine broke through the ice as part of a rare operation.
In August 2005, he covered Hurricane Katrina from the eye of the storm as it came ashore in Biloxi, Miss. Following Katrina, he reported from Key West, Fla., as Hurricane Rita made landfall, and weeks later in Cancun, Mexico, he and his crew rode out more than 51 hours of Hurricane Wilma's Category 4 winds.
Prior to joining ABC, Kerley spent more than 20 years anchoring and reporting in several cities. Most recently he was the primary anchor at WBBM-TV in Chicago, where he covered breaking news, including the terrorist attacks of September 11th and the 1999 Chicago blizzard.
In 1995 he anchored several hours of coverage from Oklahoma City in the hours and, days after, the bombing of the Federal building. His in depth reporting has included stories on the technology boom, genetically engineered crops, African American Islam, American Neo-Nazis and the U.S. military.
Kerley has been honored with two Emmy Awards. His story on those affected by the devastating fires in Southern California in 1993 was named Best Spot News Reporting, and he was honored for Best Public Affairs Broadcast for a WBBM program on the controversial expansion of Chicago's airport.
Before his work in Chicago, Kerley worked for stations in Seattle, Boise and Santa Maria, California. He received a Bachelor of Sciences degree in journalism from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. A native of Southern California, Kerley and his wife, Janet, have two children.
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