Former ABC News correspondent Jim Avila has died. He was 69 years old. ABC News Live anchor Diane Macedo announced the "sad news" of the TV journalist's death on Thursday, November 13, revealing that he "passed away after a long illness." Macedo, 43, did not share any further details about Avila's death. "Jim was an L.A.-based correspondent specializing in politics, justice, law and consumer investigations for nearly two decades," she added of Avila's time with the network. "He also worked in the White House and broke the news that the U.S. and Cuba had reopened diplomatic relations. That story earned him the prestigious Merriman Award from the White House Correspondents Association." Avila took home the Merriman Award in 2015 for his reporting on U.S. contractor Alan Gross' release from the Cuban government after five years in jail. The Most Dramatic 'Today' Show Exits Over the Years: Hoda Kotb and More "From tight, breathless morning reports where every word was news, to relaxed man-on-the-street evening interviews, Avila told the whole story on merciless deadlines," the WHCA said in a statement at the time. "That's the sort of excellence in presidential news coverage under deadline pressure that the Merriman Smith Award is meant to honor." Courtesy of Jim Avila/X Avila was also a 20/20 correspondent before he left the network in 2021. Macedo continued of her former colleague, "After leaving ABC News, Jim joined the ABC affiliate in San Diego as a senior investigative reporter covering a wide range of stories with depth and fairness." The news anchor also commended Avila's "courage" after he received a "kidney transplant donated by his brother." President of ABC News Almin Karamehmedovic also shared a statement on Avila's death. Jim Avila/X "We send our heartfelt condolences to his family, including his three children, Jamie, Jenny, and Evan, and we thank him for his many contributions and unwavering commitment to seeking out the truth," the statement read. Additionally, in an email to staff, Karamehmedovic called Avila "a gifted journalist and a generous colleague," according to ABC News. Even after he began a battle with his health, Avila "continued to contribute to journalism through opinion writing and local reporting, sharing his experience and deep curiosity to tell the stories that mattered most to his community and viewers," Karamehmedovic noted. Prior to his work at ABC, Avila was a correspondent for NBC News, where he covered "a range of domestic issues that included the September 11 attacks and the aftermath and the DC sniper shootings," according to his bio. "He also reported from Afghanistan and Iraq, during which time he filed from inside NBC's Baghdad hotel compound during and after its bombing by terrorists." Celebrity Deaths of 2025: Jim Avila and More Stars We've Lost This Year He was also an anchor and the investigative reporter for KNBC in Los Angeles from 1994 to 1996. His coverage included the O.J. Simpson murder case, which won the station the 1995 Golden Mike Award and a 1996 Emmy Award. Avila earned numerous other awards throughout his career, including two additional Emmys: one for his coverage of "the destruction of Grand Forks, North Dakota by flood and fire," and another for his coverage of "the fate of undocumented workers during the Southern California wildfires in 2008." He also received five Edward R. Murrow Awards, the Cine Golden Eagle Award, the Mongerson Prize for Investigative Reporting and five Chicago-area Emmy Awards in the Spot News category.