Bill Riales is an anchor and digital journalist at WKRG, waking up early these days to anchor News 5 This Morning.
As a digital journalist, Bill gets to do what he has done his entire career — report, shoot, edit, produce his own stories. Since 2000, Bill has also served as an investigative reporter with News 5, earning industry awards for his insightful reporting from the field and the anchor desk.
Among his investigative work, Bill has uncovered problems in the funeral, chiropractic and pest control industries. His stories on internet fraud led to the arrest and conviction of an Alabama man who bilked thousands of dollars from people across the country. He also found out how door-to-door meat salesmen con you into paying much more than you should.
Bill has investigated environmental hazards in South Alabama, taking critical looks at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and Mobile Water and Sewer. One so-called carpet cleaning organization left town because, as they told the Better Business Bureau, ‘it’s just too hard to do business in Mobile with all the media attention.”
During the Gulf Coast oil spill, Bill focused on the use of the dispersant ‘Corexit’ and the affect it may be having on marine life and people.
Bill began his career with News 5 in August 2000. He spent fourteen years at WEHT and WTVW in Evansville, Indiana before moving to the Gulf Coast, lured by the warmer climate, the scenic beauty, the sailing, and the beach. He is married and has three grown children and a son, Jack, at home. We’re officially now part of Jaguar Nation at University of South Alabama.
He always enjoys cooking and heading to the beach. Bill and his family live in Daphne.
A multi-award winning broadcast journalist, Bill received an Emmy nomination for his documentary profiling the Honor Flight South Alabama program, that takes World War Two Veterans to see their memorial in Washington D.C. He continues to report on military and veterans affairs. He has twice been honored by the Mobile Press Club as Best Anchor. He has also received awards from the Alabama and Indiana Associated Press as Best Anchor and Best Investigative Reporter.
