“Good Morning America” Saturday and Sunday Co-Anchor Gio Benitez To Be Keynote Speaker at PRSA’s ICON 2024

NEW YORK, March 20, 2024 – PRSA announced today that award-winning journalist Gio Benitez, co-anchor of “Good Morning America” Saturday and Sunday, will be a keynote speaker at ICON 2024, being held Oct. 15-17 at the Anaheim Marriott in Anaheim, California.

Benitez is also transportation correspondent for ABC News based in New York. He covers aviation, space, railroads and the auto industry across all ABC News programs and platforms, including “20/20,” “Good Morning America,” “Nightline,” “World News Tonight with David Muir,” ABC News Live and ABC News Radio.

“An award-winning anchor and field journalist, Gio Benitez is on the front lines of the news industry, well-versed in communicating with a wide range of audiences and constituencies,” said Joseph Abreu, APR, CPRC, 2024 PRSA Chair. “As public relations professionals, we are very fortunate to have someone with his experience and accomplishments engage with us at ICON 2024 in Anaheim.”

Benitez has covered a wide range of stories for the network, including the Pulse nightclub shooting, El Chapo’s underground escape from a Mexican prison, the Boston Marathon bombing, and more recently the Titan submersible implosion and Maui wildfires. He has a long history of breaking exclusive investigative stories as part of the “GMA Investigates” series, some of which have led to important safety recalls.

In his role as transportation correspondent since 2020, Benitez has covered aviation during the industry’s near-total collapse in the pandemic as well as space at the onset of America’s private space industry. He has also reported extensively on plane and helicopter crashes across the country, train derailments and the dangerous effects of hot cars on children.

Before joining ABC News in 2013, he was a reporter for WFOR-TV in Miami, where he covered the 2012 presidential election and the Trayvon Martin case.

In January 2010, Benitez traveled to Haiti to cover relief efforts following the devastating earthquake. His return flight to Miami turned into a rescue mission as he traveled with injured Haitian evacuees to the island of Curaçao. In June 2009, he was the first reporter to ever shoot a TV story entirely with an iPhone.

Benitez is the recipient of three national Emmy^® Awards and two regional Emmy Awards. In Miami, he was nominated for his investigative series on alleged police brutality, which resulted in two Miami officers being forced to turn in their guns and badges.

Before becoming a reporter, Benitez was an investigative producer at WFOR-TV and worked on stories on Medicare fraud, public safety and government corruption. He started at the station as an Emma L. Bowen Foundation work-study scholar.

Media interested in attending the conference should contact Rod Granger at rod.granger@prsa.org.

About ICON
ICON brings together public relations practitioners and communications students from around the world for professional development and networking opportunities. Activities include educational keynotes, panels, breakout sessions; social events; and multiple chances to gain practical and tactical skills, insights and ideas to take home.

About PRSA
PRSA is the leading professional organization serving the communications community through a network of more than 400 professional and student chapters in the U.S., Argentina, Colombia, Peru and Puerto Rico. Guided by its Code of Ethics, PRSA empowers its members to succeed at every stage of their careers through a wide breadth of premium professional development programs, exclusive networking events and leadership opportunities. Signature events include the Anvil Awards and ICON, the premier annual gathering for communications professionals and students. For more information, visit www.prsa.org.

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Media Contact:
Rod Granger
(212) 460-0307
rod.granger@prsa.org