Bill Ritter

ABC News Correspondent, "20/20"

ByABC News
October 1, 2004, 5:26 PM

 — -- Bill Ritter joined "20/20" as a correspondent in November 1997. He joined ABC News in 1993. He has been host of "Good Morning America/Sunday" and a correspondent on "Good Morning America." In 1998 Ritter was named weekend anchor of WABC-TV in New York. In 1999 he was named 11:00 p.m. anchor of ABC's flagship owned and operated station, and in 2001 he took over the 6:00 p.m. newscast as well.

Ritter has covered dozens of important news stories for a variety of ABC News programs, including the murder of 8 year old Leiby Kletzky in Brooklyn, mob attacks and alleged sexual assault of young women in Manhattan's Central Park following the Puerto Rican Day Parade, shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado, the death of Princess Diana, the crash of TWA Flight 800, the criminal and civil trials of O.J. Simpson and the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing.

Prior to joining ABC, he was a reporter for KCAL-TV, the former Disney-owned independent station in Los Angeles. Previously, the Los Angeles native reported on the Rodney King trial and the subsequent Los Angeles riots for the Fox Television Network. From August 1991 through February 1992, 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 1987 to 1990, 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 won in both of these categories again, this time for his reports exposing a safety scandal involving killer whales and their trainers at San Diego's Sea World of California. He also was named NBC Affiliate Reporter of the Year in 1987 and 1988.

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 1984 to 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 1980 to 1984.

Ritter served as chairman of Crash, Inc., a non-profit drug education and prevention organization in San Diego, from 1980 to 1990, and was on the San Diego State University Business School advisory board in 1984 and 1985. He attended San Diego State University, majoring in accounting and economics.