Geraldo Rivera: A Journey Through Education, Journalism, and Controversy

Geraldo Rivera, a name synonymous with sensational talk television and fearless war correspondence, has carved a unique and enduring path through the American media landscape. From his early days as a street lawyer to his current role as a commentator, Rivera's career has been marked by both critical acclaim and public controversy. This article explores the educational foundation that shaped his trajectory and the key moments that defined his career.

From Academia to Advocacy: The Foundation of a Career

Rivera's journey began with a solid academic foundation. After graduating from the University of Arizona, where he earned a varsity letter for lacrosse, his public life began after he graduated with honors from Brooklyn Law School and attained a Reginald Heber Smith fellowship in Poverty Law. These formative years instilled in him a dedication to social justice and a passion for advocacy, which would later become hallmarks of his journalistic style.

Early Education and Influences

Gerald Michael Rivera was born on July 4, 1943, in New York City. His parents, Lillian (née Friedman) and Cruz "Allen" Rivera, instilled in him a strong work ethic and a diverse cultural background. Rivera is of Galician ancestry through his father, who was from Puerto Rico. His mother was Ashkenazi Jewish, while his father was Roman Catholic. Rivera was raised "mostly Jewish" and had a bar mitzvah ceremony. Rivera's family was sometimes subjected to prejudice and racism, and his mother took to spelling their surname as "Riviera" to avoid having bigotry directed at them.

Higher Education and Legal Training

Rivera's pursuit of higher education led him to several institutions. From 1961 to 1963, he attended the State University of New York Maritime College in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx, where he was a member of the rowing team. Afterwards, he transferred to the University of Arizona, where he received a B.S. in business administration in 1965. Following a series of jobs ranging from clothing salesman to short-order cook, Rivera enrolled at Brooklyn Law School in 1966. While a law student, he held internships with the New York County District Attorney under crime-fighter Frank Hogan and Harlem Assertion of Rights (a community-based provider of legal services) before receiving his J.D. near the top of his class in 1969. He also pursued graduate legal study at the University of Pennsylvania in 1969 and studied journalism at Columbia University in 1970.

From Law to Media: A Pivotal Career Shift

After working with such organizations as the lower Manhattan-based Community Action for Legal Services and the National Lawyers Guild, Rivera became a frequent attorney for the East Harlem-based New York City chapter of the Young Lords, a Puerto Rican activist group, eventually precipitating his entry into private practice. Working as a street lawyer for New York’s urban poor, Geraldo gained media attention representing the Young Lords, a historic Puerto Rican activist group. As the Lords made headlines, Geraldo caught the eye of Al Primo, the creator of WABC’s Eyewitness News. This marked a turning point in Rivera's career, leading him from the courtroom to the newsroom.

Read also: Analyzing Diego Rivera's murals

A Journalist's Ascent: From Local News to National Prominence

Rivera's transition to journalism proved to be a natural fit, as he quickly rose through the ranks and made a name for himself as an investigative reporter and commentator. His work at WABC-TV and later at ABC News established him as a prominent voice in the media.

Early Reporting at WABC-TV

Rivera was hired by WABC-TV in 1970 as a reporter for Eyewitness News. At the prestigious program’s completion, Geraldo went to work for Primo’s WABC-TV where he soon became perhaps television’s first gritty street reporter. Covering the hard core of big city life, he shined the light on urgent issues like street gangs and the savage heroin epidemic then gripping the big city. In 1972, he garnered national attention and won a Peabody Award for Willowbrook: The Last Great Disgrace, his report on the neglect and abuse of patients with intellectual disabilities at Staten Island's Willowbrook State School and Rockland County's Letchworth Village, and he began to appear on ABC national programs such as 20/20 and Nightline upon their launches in 1978 and 1979 respectively. His world changed in 1972 when he presented a series exposing the deplorable conditions at the Willowbrook State School a huge institution for the handicapped housing a population then treated out-of-sight, out-of-mind.

Rise to National Prominence at ABC News

Before becoming a member of the original cast of ABC’s “Good Morning America” in 1975, Rivera presented the first television broadcast of the infamous Abraham Zapruder film of the assassination of President John Kennedy as host of ABC’s “Good Night America.” In July 1973, Rivera taped the pilot episode of Good Night America, a late-night newsmagazine that he hosted (and executive produced). It began its semi-regular airing from April 1974 to June 1977 as part of the ABC's Wide World of Entertainment program block. Good Night America tackled controversial topics of the era, including marijuana usage and the status of Vietnam War draft dodgers. The March 6, 1975 episode of the program, featuring Dick Gregory and Robert J. Groden, showed the historic Zapruder film of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to a nationwide audience for the first time. The graphic nature of the film renewed calls for investigations into the death. He then began an eight-year association with ABC’s “20/20” as lead investigative reporter. On May 19, 1983, Rivera broadcast the first American network television mention of "AIDS" by this name. (Other names had been used in the previous two years, as the disease was poorly understood at the time.) On 20/20, he interviewed New York City lighting designer Ken Ramsauer.

Controversies and Departure from ABC

In October 1985, ABC's Roone Arledge refused to air a report done by Sylvia Chase for 20/20 on the relationship between Marilyn Monroe and John and Robert F. Kennedy. Rivera publicly criticized Arledge's journalistic integrity, claiming that Arledge's friendship with the Kennedy family (for example, Pierre Salinger, a former Kennedy aide, worked for ABC News at the time) had caused him to spike the story; as a result, Rivera was fired. After leaving ABC, in April 1986, Geraldo produced the highest-rated syndicated show in history.

Talk Show Era: Sensationalism and Success

Rivera's career took a turn towards the sensational in the late 1980s and 1990s with the launch of his daytime talk show, "Geraldo." While the show achieved high ratings, it also drew criticism for its focus on controversial topics and its often-theatrical presentation.

Read also: Education of Diego Rivera

"The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults"

On April 21, 1986, Rivera hosted The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults. The special broadcast was billed as the unearthing of mobster Al Capone's secret vaults, located under the old Lexington Hotel in Chicago. Despite the vault turning out to be empty, the show garnered significant attention and high ratings.

Launch of "Geraldo"

In 1987, Rivera began producing and hosting his eponymous daytime talk show for 11 years. His epic 1988 on camera brawl with racist skin heads is still talked about today. The show became known for its controversial topics and sensational presentation, attracting a large audience but also drawing criticism.

Controversies and Criticisms

Rivera's talk show era was marked by numerous controversies, including on-air brawls, discussions of taboo subjects, and Rivera's own involvement in the show's theatrics. These controversies led to criticism from media commentators and cultural critics, who accused Rivera of sensationalism and exploitation.

Return to News: War Correspondent and Political Commentator

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, Rivera returned to his roots as a news reporter, joining Fox News as a war correspondent. He has since covered numerous conflicts and political events, often sparking further controversy with his on-air statements and actions.

Joining Fox News as a War Correspondent

A native New Yorker outraged by the terror attacks of 9/11 2001, Geraldo took a major pay cut and left “Rivera Live” to join Fox News as senior war correspondent, providing weeks of dramatic live reports from Afghanistan during the initial siege on Osama bin Laden’s hideout. Rivera left CNBC in November 2001-two months after the September 11 terrorist attacks-to become a Fox News war correspondent. Geraldo returned to Afghanistan ten more times to cover Operation Enduring Freedom. His many other combat assignments ranged from Mogadishu to Khartoum to Colombia to the Golan Heights. He traveled to Gaza and to the West Bank to cover the Israeli-Palestinian conflict live from the Church of the Nativity siege in Bethlehem. Rivera also reported from virtually every hurricane and natural disaster to cause significant damage including Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He reported from Charleston, SC on the horrific, racially motivated massacre in the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, and on the riots that followed the death in police custody of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, MD. Deeply engaged in reporting the spike in urban violence, Rivera provided live coverage of the funeral of fallen NYPD officers.

Controversies in War Reporting

In 2001, during the War in Afghanistan, Rivera was derided for a report in which he claimed to be at the scene of a friendly fire incident; it was later revealed he was actually 300 miles away. Controversy arose in early 2003, while Rivera was traveling with the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq. During a Fox News broadcast, Rivera began to disclose an upcoming operation, even going so far as to draw a map in the sand for his audience.

Political Commentary and Controversial Statements

Additionally, Geraldo hosted hour-long specials for Fox News, exposing the cushy life in prison of wife and child killer Scott Peterson, the 35th anniversary of the overdose death of Elvis Presley, and on the untimely death of Geraldo’s longtime friend, comedian Joan Rivers. In 2009, he secured an exclusive interview with Joe Jackson, just after the death of his son Michael. Geraldo had previously interviewed the late Michael Jackson on the evening before his 2005 trial and acquittal for child molestations charges. In 2005, Rivera engaged in a feud with The New York Times over their allegations that he pushed aside a member of a rescue team in order to be filmed "assisting" a woman in a wheelchair down some steps in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In the ensuing controversy, Rivera appeared on television and demanded a retraction from the Times. In 2007, Rivera was involved in a dispute with fellow Fox colleague Michelle Malkin. Malkin announced that she would not return to The O'Reilly Factor, claiming that Fox News had mishandled a dispute over derogatory statements Rivera had made about her in a Boston Globe interview. Rivera, while objecting to her views on immigration, said, "Michelle Malkin is the most vile, hateful commentator I've ever met in my life. She actually believes that neighbors should start snitching out neighbors, and we should be deporting people." He added, "It's good she's in D.C., and I'm in New York. On January 3, 2012, Rivera began hosting a weekday radio talk show on WABC (770 AM) in New York, N.Y. On March 23, 2012, Rivera made comments regarding Trayvon Martin's hoodie and how the hoodie was connected to Martin's shooting death, specifically claiming that Martin would not have been shot if he was not wearing the hoodie, repeating them on subsequent occasions. Rivera apologized for any offense that he caused with the comments. On November 29, 2017, Rivera defended Matt Lauer, who had been fired by NBC after inappropriate sexual behavior was alleged, by saying, "News is a flirty business." He later apologized after receiving heavy criticism. On March 13, 2020, during a segment of Fox & Friends discussing the coronavirus pandemic, Rivera stated, "If you can't hold your breath for 10 seconds. Everyone should do that. Hold your breath for 10 seconds. On July 22, 2020, Rivera called President Trump "brave" for wishing Ghislaine Maxwell "well", after a reporter questioned Trump over Maxwell's charges of helping Jeffrey Epstein traffic and abuse children. Rivera called the fact that Maxwell had been denied bail and given solitary confinement an example of "woke politics". On April 8, 2021, during a discussion on St. On December 14, 2021, Rivera called to account texts sent by Fox news anchors, including Sean Hannity to then-President Donald J. Capitol Building. In January 2022, Rivera joined The Five as a rotating liberal co-host alongside Jessica Tarlov and Harold Ford Jr. He announced on June 21, 2023, that he would be departing the program on June 30 but remaining with the network. A week later Rivera announced that he had been fired from The Five hours before his scheduled June 29 appearance.

Beyond Journalism: Other Ventures and Accomplishments

In addition to his work in journalism and television, Rivera has pursued a variety of other interests and ventures, including writing, sailing, and philanthropy.

Author and Writer

An avid sailor who circumnavigated the globe, skippered four Marion to Bermuda races and took his boat “Voyager” 1,400 miles up the Amazon River, Rivera is the author of eight books, including two best sellers, “Exposing Myself” and “His Panic.” Rivera, Geraldo (1972). Willowbrook: A report on how it is and why it doesn't have to be that way. New York: Vintage Books. Rivera, Geraldo (1973). Miguel Robles-So Far. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Rivera, Geraldo (1973). Puerto Rico: Island of Contrasts, pictures by William Negron. Parents Magazine Press. Rivera, Geraldo (1977). A Special Kind of Courage: Profiles of young Americans. New York: Bantam Books. Rivera, Geraldo (1992). Exposing Myself. London: Bantam. Rivera, Geraldo (2008). HisPanic: Why Americans fear Hispanics in the U. S. New York: Celebra. Rivera, Geraldo (2009). The Great Progression: How Hispanics Will Lead America to a New Era of Prosperity. New York: New American Library. Rivera, Geraldo (2018). The Geraldo Show, A Memoir. Texas: Benbella Books.

Sailing and Exploration

Rivera is an active sailor. As owner and skipper of the sailing vessel Voyager, he participated in the Marion-Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race in 1985, 2005, 2011, and 2013. In 2013, his vessel finished in 12th place out of 34 finishers. He also sailed Voyager 1,400 miles up the Amazon river and around the world, going so far as to meet the King of Tonga on the international dateline in time for the new millennium.

Philanthropy

He is a philanthropist who donates and raises millions to aid various causes including education and the care and treatment of the autistic. Geraldo Rivera and his wife, Erica, donated $500,000 to the UA at the groundbreaking of the Geraldo Rivera Greek Heritage Park on Friday.

Personal Life

Since 2003, he is married to the former Erica Michelle Levy and has five children and five grandchildren. C.C. (Cynthia Cruickshank) Dyer (July 11, 1987 - 2000, divorced)children: daughter Isabella Holmes (born 1992)[74] daughter Simone Cruickshank (born 1994).

tags: #geraldo #rivera #education #history