Arnold Friedman
In loving memory of Arnold Friedman
Arnold “Arnie” Friedman was a Los Angeles-area journalist who worked as a reporter with Southern California newspapers and as a freelance producer for television news magazine programs on the major networks. His specialty was the criminal justice system and its intersection with politics.
Friedman covered crime and courts for the Los Angeles Daily News for more than a decade before shifting to providing investigative story leads as a solopreneur doing business as “Story Gems.” As a freelance producer, he worked on assignment for news magazine programs including CBS’s 60 Minutes and 48 Hours and ABC’s 20/20 and PrimeTime. Friedman also produced television and film projects based on true stories and original screenplays. He coproduced and cowrote the script for NBC’s In The Line of Duty: The Price of Vengeance, a film based on the true story of a Los Angeles police detective and friend of Friedman’s who was stalked and killed by a gang leader.
Friedman wrote throughout his life and had articles published in a variety of newspapers and magazines. Additionally, Arnold Friedman mentored his son, Josh Friedman, who has reported for online publications both in California and overseas.
This site aims to highlight some of Arnold Friedman’s journalistic work and explore topics and conversations related to his media career.
From The Los Angeles Daily News
Arnold Friedman, a former Los Angeles Daily News reporter who wrote award-winning investigations and also produced stories for national network news programs, has died, according to his family. He passed away on Jan. 25 surrounded by his family and friends afer a short illness.
He was 79 years old. Friedman was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1942 but spent most of his childhood in San Bernardino. He graduated from the Journalism Department at California State University, Northridge, known as San Fernando Valley State College at the time.
For nearly 11 years, he covered crime and courts for the Los Angeles Daily News, including a series on the serial killer Richard Ramirez, the infamous Night Stalker. During that time, Friedman earned awards, including The Greater Los Angeles Press Club “Best Story” award for his reporting on the Southern California economy and the Valley Press Club’s “Best In-Depth Reporting” award which he received in 1981.
Friedman was also involved in the production of stories and screenplays for network television. He worked on the 1989 docudrama “Manhunt: Search for the Night Stalker.” Friedman later helped write the script and coproduce NBC’s “In the Line of Duty: The Price of Vengeance,” which was based on real events when a Los Angeles police detective was stalked and killed by a gang leader. The detective was Friedman’s college friend.
Beginning in the 1990s, Friedman wrote stories for major networks, including CBS’s “60 Minutes” and “48 Hours,” ABC’s “20/20” and “Primetime” and “Dateline NBC.” He also coproduced three segments for correspondent Mike Wallace, including a 1999 story on medical fraud in California and a story on the Los Angeles Police Department’s handling of domestic violence allegations against its ofcers.
He is survived by his son, Josh Friedman, who is also a reporter. Friedman was memorialized at a funeral on Tuesday in San Bernardino.
