Arnold Diaz, a bold investigative reporter at three New York City television stations, passed away on October 24 in Greenwich, Connecticut at the age of 74. He was known for his passionate segments that exposed con artists, scammers, and others who took advantage of consumers. The cause of his death was multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer.
Diaz was not only interested in resolving the problems faced by victims but also in embarrassing those responsible for their wrongdoings. He would confront them, chase them, and forcefully interview them on camera to get answers. At WCBS, Channel 2, where he worked for over 20 years, his investigations were known as “Shame on You” and were introduced with a catchy animation featuring a jingle and a wagging index finger. The segment later moved to WNYW, Channel 5, and was renamed “Shame, Shame, Shame,” and then to WPIX, Channel 11, where it became “What a Shame!”
In an interview before retiring last year, Diaz expressed his gratitude for his job, stating that he stood up for the little guy and exposed the bad guys. He believed that his reports gave voice to victims whose complaints were often ignored, from issues with landlords and businesses to problems with government agencies.
One of Diaz’s notable reports from the early 1990s focused on people who had purchased credit-card-activated fax machines that were advertised to bring quick profits. He exposed a company called Distribution International and revealed that none of the customers on his list had received the equipment. Diaz tracked down the company’s president, Sheri Cohen, in a basement office in Queens, but she refused to answer his questions. As a result of his investigative report, Cohen was later charged with wire fraud and ultimately convicted.
Diaz’s reporting style often led to confrontations, with people spitting, cursing, and even threatening him. In one instance, a jeweler he was investigating for shortweighing gold menacingly placed a gun on the table in front of him. Despite these encounters, Diaz won 48 New York Emmy Awards for his work.
Born on June 16, 1949, in Brooklyn, Diaz grew up in North Miami Beach, Florida. He graduated from Florida State University with a bachelor’s degree in communications and media studies in 1971, followed by a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University. He began his career at WPLG in Miami before joining WCBS in 1973. Diaz left local television in 1996 to work as a consumer investigative correspondent on ABC’s “20/20,” but he returned to Channel 2 in 2003. He later worked at Channel 5 and Channel 11 before retiring.
Diaz’s son, Alex Diaz, attributes his father’s passionate style to his Cuban heritage and his upbringing in a working-class Brooklyn neighborhood. He believes his father’s use of shame was a call for introspection rather than judgment and urged wrongdoers to be better versions of themselves.
Arnold Diaz is survived by his wife, Shawn Callaghan-Diaz, his children Shayna Wade and Casey Diaz, his son Alex Diaz, his sister Susan Enslein, and his twin grandsons. Reflecting on his career, Diaz stated that he had no regrets and although he would miss the excitement, he wouldn’t miss the times he had been threatened and attacked.