Former WNYW consumer reporter Arnold Diaz is joining rival WPIX, Tribune’s CW affiliate in New York City. Diaz will join Mary Murphy and Howard Thompson to round out a newly-formed investigative unit at WPIX.
The news comes on the heels of Fox-owned WNYW shuttering its consumer investigative unit — and getting rid of Diaz — in January.
“Howard and Mary have built their reputations on helping right wrongs. Now with the addition of Arnold Diaz, who has a storied career as an investigative consumer reporter, we strengthen PIX11’s goal of keeping our viewers informed,” WPIX news director Mark Effron said in a statement.
The investigative unit will be overseen by producer Noreen Lark. Diaz’s first official day at the station will be March 31.
More from WPIX after the jump.
NEW YORK, March 26, 2014 –PIX11 today announced the formation of PIX11 Investigates, a unit dedicated to investigative journalism with a laser focus on keeping our viewers and their families safe.
PIX11 Investigates will be spearheaded by Mary Murphy, Howard Thompson, his Help Me Howard series, and Arnold Diaz, who joins the PIX11 team on March 31.
Their mission: investigate, account and report. Together, Howard, Mary and Arnold, along with PIX11’s entire team of award-winning journalists, will cover a broad range of stories, a team dedicated to protecting and serving New York.
Arnold Diaz is well known to New York viewers from decades of reporting for WCBS, WNYW and 20/20. The creator of the Shame on You and the Shame, Shame, Shame brands, Diaz regularly exposed wrongdoing and incompetence by private industry and government agencies. His work has led to his winning 48 Emmy Awards, the National Press Club Consumer Journalism Award and the Consumer Federation of America Media Service Award.
Howard Thompson has aided thousands of viewers through his Help Me Howard segments since its inception in 1995. Howard’s tenacious investigations have run the gamut, from shutting down an unlicensed medical practice to helping a local family with a bogus contractor. In addition to resolving major conflicts; Howard always seeks to expose con artists. As a result, he recently won an Emmy Award for best Business/Consumer Program Series.
As an investigative reporter, Mary Murphy has reported on links between cigarette smuggling and terrorism, staged accidents for insurance fraud, sexual abuse in religious communities, sweetheart swindlers, breast cancer misdiagnosis, and lottery scams. Mary has been working in New York television for three decades, her entire career, and has been recognized with 18 Emmy Awards, 24 Associated Press Awards, an Edward R. Murrow Award for Writing, an American Association of Women in Radio and Television Award and the New York Press Club “Heart of New York” Award.
Together under one umbrella, Murphy, Thompson and Diaz come together to create a powerful brand in PIX11 Investigates.
“Howard and Mary have built their reputations on helping right wrongs. Now with the addition of Arnold Diaz, who has a storied career as an investigative consumer reporter, we strengthen PIX11’s goal of keeping our viewers informed,” said Mark Effron, Vice President/News, PIX11.”
PIX11’s Emmy award winning producer Noreen Lark will oversee PIX11 Investigates with Howard, Mary and Arnold delivering weekly segments with regular updates.
“We have a responsibility to serve our communities, to bring fraud and injustice to light. The PIX11 Investigates unit will expose wrongdoings, while protecting our viewers and keeping their families safe from harm,” said Rich Graziano, President/GM, PIX11.