Tom Jarriel
Encyclopedia
Thomas Edwin "Tom" Jarriel is an American
television
news reporter who has worked for the ABC
network since the 1960s
.
Jarriel's parents were the late William Lester Jarriel, Sr., and Ella Ruth Jarriel (1903–1996). The Jarriels were living in LaGrange
in Troup County
in far western Georgia
, where on May 17, 1932, Tom's last surviving brother and sister, the twins Bobby K. Jarriel of Denison
, Texas
, and Dorothy Jarriel Scott Tooley of Shreveport
, Louisiana
, were born. Jarriel was also born in LaGrange, two years thereafter. Dorothy Tooley, a retired social worker for the state of Louisiana
, died in 2010 of a lengthy illness. Two other sisters and a brother, William L. Jarriel, Jr. (1927–1999), of Houston
, Texas, are deceased. Jarriel has a mentally handicapped niece, Margaret Ruth Scott of the Pinecrest Support and Services Center in Pineville
in central Louisiana.
In 1947, the family moved to Shreveport, where Jarriel graduated in 1952 from C.E. Byrd High School. In 1956, he earned a Bachelor of Science
degree at the University of Houston
. He first worked at television station KPRC-TV
, the NBC
affiliate in Houston. In 1965, Jarriel joined ABC, first based at the network's southern bureau in Atlanta
, Georgia. While there, he attracted national notice for his coverage of the assassination
of Martin Luther King, Jr.
.
Shortly afterward, he became White House
correspondent for ABC, during the administrations of U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon
and Gerald Ford
. Later, in 1979, Jarriel joined the network's newsmagazine
20/20, as an investigative correspondent. On that show and on several hour-long documentaries, he covered subjects such as the defects in the American criminal justice system, wasteful spending by the United States Department of Defense
, and transportation accidents. He received several Emmy Award
s for his work.
During most of that time, Jarriel anchored the 15-minute bulletins ABC aired late nights on Saturday and Sunday, until those broadcasts were cancelled in 1991. He also served as substitute anchor on World News Tonight
.
Jarriel continues to contribute occasionally to ABC News. He and his wife, Joan B. Jarriel (born ca. 1936), reside in Edgewater in Anne Arundel County
, Maryland
, outside Washington, D. C. The Jarriels have three sons, Michael Thomas Jarriel (born ca. 1958) of Annapolis
, Maryland, Stephen L. Jarriel (born ca. 1961) of Vienna
, Virginia, and Jeffrey David Jarriel (born ca. 1964) of Colorado Springs
, Colorado
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
news reporter who has worked for the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
network since the 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
.
Jarriel's parents were the late William Lester Jarriel, Sr., and Ella Ruth Jarriel (1903–1996). The Jarriels were living in LaGrange
LaGrange, Georgia
LaGrange is a city in Troup County, Georgia, United States. It is named after the country estate near Paris of the Marquis de La Fayette, who visited the area in 1825. The population was 24,998 at the 2000 census...
in Troup County
Troup County, Georgia
Troup County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2010, the population was 67,044. The county seat is LaGrange.-History:...
in far western Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, where on May 17, 1932, Tom's last surviving brother and sister, the twins Bobby K. Jarriel of Denison
Denison, Texas
Denison is a city in Grayson County, Texas, United States. The population was 22,773 at the 2000 census; it is estimated to have grown to 24,127 in 2009. Denison is one of two principal cities in the Sherman-Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and Dorothy Jarriel Scott Tooley of Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, were born. Jarriel was also born in LaGrange, two years thereafter. Dorothy Tooley, a retired social worker for the state of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, died in 2010 of a lengthy illness. Two other sisters and a brother, William L. Jarriel, Jr. (1927–1999), of Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, Texas, are deceased. Jarriel has a mentally handicapped niece, Margaret Ruth Scott of the Pinecrest Support and Services Center in Pineville
Pineville, Louisiana
Pineville is a city in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is adjacent to the city of Alexandria, and is part of that city's Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,829 at the 2000 census....
in central Louisiana.
In 1947, the family moved to Shreveport, where Jarriel graduated in 1952 from C.E. Byrd High School. In 1956, he earned a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree at the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
. He first worked at television station KPRC-TV
KPRC-TV
KPRC-TV is the NBC affiliated television station based in Houston, Texas, and serving the Greater Houston television market. It has studios located in the Sharpstown district on the Southwest portion of the city, and has a transmitter site in unincorporated Fort Bend County near Missouri City...
, the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate in Houston. In 1965, Jarriel joined ABC, first based at the network's southern bureau in Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, Georgia. While there, he attracted national notice for his coverage of the assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
.
Shortly afterward, he became White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
correspondent for ABC, during the administrations of U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
and Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
. Later, in 1979, Jarriel joined the network's newsmagazine
Newsmagazine
A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published piece of paper, magazine or a radio or television program, usually weekly, featuring articles or segments on current events...
20/20, as an investigative correspondent. On that show and on several hour-long documentaries, he covered subjects such as the defects in the American criminal justice system, wasteful spending by the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
, and transportation accidents. He received several Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s for his work.
During most of that time, Jarriel anchored the 15-minute bulletins ABC aired late nights on Saturday and Sunday, until those broadcasts were cancelled in 1991. He also served as substitute anchor on World News Tonight
World News with Charles Gibson
ABC World News is the flagship daily evening program of ABC News, the news division of the American Broadcasting Company television network in the United States. Currently, the weekday editions are anchored by Diane Sawyer and the weekend editions are anchored by David Muir. The program has been...
.
Jarriel continues to contribute occasionally to ABC News. He and his wife, Joan B. Jarriel (born ca. 1936), reside in Edgewater in Anne Arundel County
Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Anne Arundel County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is named for Anne Arundell , a member of the ancient family of Arundells in Cornwall, England and the wife of Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore. Its county seat is Annapolis, which is also the capital of the state...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, outside Washington, D. C. The Jarriels have three sons, Michael Thomas Jarriel (born ca. 1958) of Annapolis
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
, Maryland, Stephen L. Jarriel (born ca. 1961) of Vienna
Vienna, Virginia
Vienna is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 15,687. Significantly more people live in zip codes with the Vienna postal addresses bordered approximately by Interstate 66 on the south, Interstate 495 on the east, Route 7 to...
, Virginia, and Jeffrey David Jarriel (born ca. 1964) of Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
.