Kathy Ritchie

Kathy Ritchie's picture
Senior Field Correspondent - Tempe

Kathy Ritchie has 20 years of experience reporting and writing stories for national and local media outlets -- nearly a decade of it has been spent in public media.

Most recently, she was the health and caregiving editor at Next Avenue, a national digital publication geared toward people 50-plus. While there, she oversaw a team of contributors, identified opportunities for new feature stories and series, and oversaw the completion of the 2021 John A. Hartford Foundation grant, one of Next Avenue’s largest active grants to date. Ritchie was also responsible for Next Avenue's 2022 series entitled Aging with Disabilities in America. Next Avenue is part of the Twin Cities PBS system.

Ritchie has spent most of her public media career in radio as a senior field correspondent at NPR member station, KJZZ in Phoenix. While there, Ritchie was responsible for the station’s largest newsroom collaboration, a 10-part series The State of Aging in the Valley. She also pitched and produced a four-part podcast, The Recovering Caregiver, based on her own personal experience with her mother who had frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) and what life is like after dementia. The final episode was nominated for a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award.

Her latest podcast aims to set the record straight when it comes to menopause. Period, The End (But Not Really) debuted in September 2023.

Over the years, Ritchie has reported on the challenges facing LGBT elders, the topic of aging and intimacy, senior homelessness, ambiguous loss and grief, grandfamilies, and what it means to age in our society. Many of these stories have aired on NPR’s national magazine show, Here & Now.

And throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, Ritchie reported on the myriad challenges facing families, older adults and caregivers. That work led her to create a miniseries called, Caring in Crisis, in which she documented the experiences of “the helpers.”

Besides her professional experience in the aging space, Ritchie wrote about her mother’s journey living with dementia in a blog

Ritchie got her start in television at ABC News and later at FOX News in New York City.

Title Author(s) Publication Date
Motives For Sexting Are Complicated, UA Researcher Says Kathy Ritchie Aug. 14, 2019
'Let Your Freak Flag Fly' At This Horror Movie Convention Kathy Ritchie Aug. 9, 2019
AARP Arizona Wants Democratic Candidates To Discuss Retirement Security Kathy Ritchie Aug. 7, 2019
Researchers: Don't Use Term 'High Functioning Autism' Kathy Ritchie Aug. 7, 2019
Gov. Ducey Selects New Policy Adviser For Education Kathy Ritchie Aug. 5, 2019
Tucson To Vote On Initiative To Raise Age To Buy Tobacco Kathy Ritchie Aug. 5, 2019
GateHouse Buying Gannett, USA Today Owner Kathy Ritchie
Associated Press
Aug. 5, 2019
Grant To Study Sexual Assault Among People With Developmental Disabilities Kathy Ritchie Aug. 2, 2019
Number Of Registered Arizona Voters Up By Nearly 50,000 Kathy Ritchie July 31, 2019
GAO: Nursing Home Surveyors Need To Do More To Prevent Abuse Kathy Ritchie July 31, 2019
What Is The Cost Of Alzheimer's Disease On Society? Lauren Gilger, Kathy Ritchie July 30, 2019
3 Former UA Deans Settle Lawsuit Vs. Arizona Board Of Regents Kathy Ritchie July 24, 2019
Resident-On-Resident Injuries A Risk In Long-Term Care Kathy Ritchie July 24, 2019
Arizona High Court Rejects Removal Of Light Rail Initiative Kathy Ritchie July 24, 2019
Community For Adults With Disabilities Turns 1 Kathy Ritchie July 24, 2019
Hacienda HealthCare Closing Children's Hospital Kathy Ritchie July 23, 2019
ASU Researcher: Car Safety Ratings Don't Consider Older Drivers Kathy Ritchie July 10, 2019
Q&AZ: How do people working outside deal with Phoenix heat? Kathy Ritchie July 8, 2019
Disability Advocacy Group Weighs In On Report On 2020 Candidates Kathy Ritchie June 26, 2019
From Lottery To Romance, Scams Target Older Adults Kathy Ritchie June 24, 2019
Hacienda's Medicaid Certification To Be Terminated Kathy Ritchie June 20, 2019
Office Of Management And Budget To Re-Examine How Poverty Line Is Calculated Kathy Ritchie June 19, 2019
Survey: Older Women Worried About Health Care Costs Kathy Ritchie, Steve Goldstein June 19, 2019
Grand Canyon Officially Recognized As Dark Sky Park Kathy Ritchie June 19, 2019
BLM To Impose Fire Restrictions Thursday In Colorado River District Kathy Ritchie June 19, 2019

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