Former Associated Press reporter and beloved local New York anchor Arnold Diaz has died at the age of 74 after a long battle with blood cancer.
Diaz was an early consumer advocate on television news, and his reporting helped put fraud artists behind bars. His segments on 20/20, WNYW, and WPIX at ABC included the catchy jingle, “Shame, Shame, Shame, Shame on You.”
In 1995, he graduated with a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and was inducted into the Silver Circle of the National Academy of Arts and Sciences.
On his CBS show, “Shame on You,” Diaz defended regular New Yorkers by calling out scam artists and other shady characters who preyed on them by lying, cheating, stealing, and abusing the system. In 1994, the New York Times published an article about Diaz’s work, which included an account of a cab driver who overcharged tourists who didn’t know any better and a mailman who charged welfare recipients for delivering their checks.
Diaz’s “Shame on You” consumer investigation programs on CBS2 became rather popular. Often, with nowhere else to turn, citizens who were scammed and wronged by unscrupulous bad actors, Diaz was their lifeline to justice.
The New York Post called him a “New York City staple,” and he won nearly 50 Emmys throughout his career. He retired from PIX11 last year.
He attended Florida State University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and Northwestern University in Chicago, where he received his master’s degree in journalism. Diaz retired in early 2022 after an impressive career that garnered him hundreds of Emmy Awards. He was characteristically forthright as he reflected on his many years as a journalist.
Diaz, born in Brooklyn, attended Florida State University, where he graduated with honors. He retired in the first half of 2022 after getting his master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University in Chicago.
Diaz left behind a wife, three kids, and two grandchildren.
