Emmy® Award-winning reporter Ray Villeda joined the NBC 4 New York news team in June of 2015 and can be seen on all weekday evening newscasts.
Since joining NBC 4 New York, Villeda has covered several high-profile stories for Tri-State viewers. His reporting during the deadly December 2019 Jersey City shootout was recognized by the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA), which awarded NBC 4 New York the 2020 National Edward R. Murrow Award for Top Television Newscast.
Villeda’s reporting was also a key component of NBC 4 New York’s award-winning COVID-19 coverage, honored in January, 2021 with the prestigious Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for “creat(ing) a 360 view in real time of the coronavirus pandemic, with courageous and thorough reporting on the virus’s explosion in New York City.” The duPont has long been recognized as the broadcast, documentary and on-line equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, also awarded by Columbia University.
In July 2016, Villeda travelled to Dallas and delivered live updates on the ambush-style attacks which left five police officers dead. He was later awarded a New York Emmy® as part of NBC 4 New York’s team coverage of the Dallas attacks.
In January 2017, Villeda travelled to South Florida to cover a deadly mass shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Several months later, he travelled to Houston to cover the record flooding generated by Hurricane Harvey. In September of that year, Villeda was one of the only New York-based local television reporters on the ground in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria’s landfall. He remained on the ground in the aftermath of the storm to chronicle the recovery for Tri-State viewers.
In September 2018, Villeda returned to Puerto Rico to mark the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria, bringing Tri-State viewers on a wide-ranging tour of the Island’s recovery. Later that year, he travelled to Miami to cover the court appearance of the accused nationwide package bomber who had targeted media organizations and public officials across the Tri-State area.
Prior to joining NBC 4 New York, Villeda reported at KXAS, the NBC station in Dallas-Fort Worth. It was here that he was recognized with two Emmys® for on-camera live reports, and for general assignment stories. At KXAS, Villeda’s assignments took him across the nation, covering major stories such as Hurricane Sandy, the Ebola outbreak from Dallas to Atlanta, and the border crisis. Fluent in Spanish, he was able to secure firsthand accounts from families who had made the trek over the Texas-Mexico border.
Villeda came to Dallas from Hartford, Connecticut, where he reported for CBS affiliate WFSB-TV. While at WFSB-TV, he was recognized by the Associated Press and the Society of Professional Journalists for his coverage of a major power plant explosion. He was the first reporter on the scene after the fatal blast, providing live, detailed reports throughout the response and recovery periods.
Born in Queens, Villeda lived in Brooklyn for many years. He is a proud graduate of Ithaca College, and made his television news debut on Syracuse’s NBC3 (WSTM-TV). Currently residing in Manhattan, Villeda is a passionate runner who, on a nice day, can frequently be found traversing Central Park or the West Side Highway. He is hoping to eventually run the New York City Marathon.
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