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
Goodwin Fire: Drone Poses Safety Hazard As Crews Work To Contain The Fire Kathy Ritchie, Stina Sieg June 30, 2017
Prescott Officials: Events This Weekend To Go As Planned Kathy Ritchie June 29, 2017
Extreme Weather: Phoenix And Minneapolis Understand The Struggle Kathy Ritchie June 26, 2017
Survey: Female Caregivers Torn Between Work, Family Obligations Kathy Ritchie June 23, 2017
AARP: Arizona Ranks 26th In Long-Term Care For Older Residents Kathy Ritchie June 22, 2017
Senior Olympians Compete For Gold Kathy Ritchie June 22, 2017
Hundreds Of Wildfires Burn Across Arizona; Most Are Human Caused Kathy Ritchie June 21, 2017
Committee: Military Caregivers Of Pre- And Post-9/11 Veterans Need More Support Kathy Ritchie June 19, 2017
SRP Ready For Record-Breaking Phoenix Heat Kathy Ritchie June 18, 2017
Phoenix Has Hit 120 Degrees Only 3 Times In Recorded History Kathy Ritchie June 16, 2017
Arizona Lawmaker Wants To Stop College Students From Voting Where They Live Kathy Ritchie, Steve Goldstein June 16, 2017
Arizona AG Investigating Chandler-Based Opioids Manufacturer Kathy Ritchie June 16, 2017
Arizona Lawmakers React To D.C. Shooting Kathy Ritchie, Lauren Gilger June 14, 2017
FAA Awards Flagstaff Airport $7.8 Mil Grant To Restore Runway Kathy Ritchie June 5, 2017
ADOT To Design, Install Detection System For Wrong-Way Drivers Kathy Ritchie June 2, 2017
DPS: Number Of Wrong-Way Incidents Don't Tell Whole Story Kathy Ritchie June 2, 2017
Man Driving Wrong Way Arrested After Collisions With 5 Vehicles Kathy Ritchie May 31, 2017
Fire Restrictions Put In Place In Three More Arizona Counties Kathy Ritchie May 31, 2017
Phoenix City Council Adopts Age-Friendly Communities Action Plan Kathy Ritchie May 29, 2017
More Risk Factors For Falling Than Just Aging Kathy Ritchie May 26, 2017
Arizona Program Teaches Lawyers How To Help Clients With Dementia Kathy Ritchie May 26, 2017
CDC: Alzheimer’s Disease Increased By More Than 50 Percent Kathy Ritchie May 25, 2017
AARP Ad Targets Flake, Senators To Vote Against AHCA Kathy Ritchie May 25, 2017
State Fire Marshal Worried Changes To Drone Law To Hurt Firefighting Efforts Kathy Ritchie May 24, 2017
Mesa Fiesta Mall Getting New Look, New Name Kathy Ritchie May 20, 2017

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