Erin Moriarty has been named the 2025 Ohio State Alumni Medalist Award winner. Credit: Courtesy of CBS News
Erin Moriarty, an Ohio State alumna who is a correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning and 48 Hours, has been named the 2025 Alumni Medalist Award winner, one of the highest honors bestowed by The Ohio State University Alumni Association.
The award is given to one alumnus each year who has “gained national or international distinction in their chosen field or profession — those advocates who have brought extraordinary credit to the university and significant benefit to humankind,” according to the alumni association website.
In 1997, Moriarty graduated from Ohio State’s College of Law, now known as the Moritz College of Law, where women were still underrepresented in the legal profession. She said she remains forever grateful for the chance the university took on her as a woman entering that field.
“The law school, rather than just being, you know, a part of my life for three years, has been a part of my life for 40,” Moriarty said. “To me, getting an award like this, where the university says we’re proud of what you’ve done, it’s full circle, because it says as much about the university, maybe more about the university, than it does about me.”
While Moriarty once planned to be a litigator, she eventually discovered her true calling: telling the story behind these cases.
As a correspondent for CBS and 48 Hours, in addition to hosting her own true-crime podcast “My Life of Crime,” Moriarty has built a successful career that has contributed to the release of 12 wrongfully convicted people through her reporting, earned her nine Emmy Awards and taken her inside some of the American legal system’s biggest stories — including the trials of O.J. Simpson and the investigation into the death of JonBenét Ramsey, according to a Moritz College of Law article.
Moriarty’s path into journalism began when she auditioned for a part on the Columbus-based show PM Magazine. When she realized she could use her legal expertise to tell stories, Moriarty said she knew she had found her purpose.
“I learned how to be aggressive and put myself into situations where I might not be welcome,” Moriarty said. “Asking a lot of questions, all the things that lawyers do. Journalism and practicing law are so similar, and when you’re in a courtroom trying a case, you’re telling a story, just like I’m telling a story when I’m covering the trial.”
After nearly four decades of reporting, Moriarty said it’s the stories and the opportunities to change people’s lives — rather than awards — that stand out the most.
Moriarty said nothing is more exciting and more emotional than seeing someone walk out of prison who never should have been there. One man in particular, Ryan Ferguson, stands out for Moriarty.
Ferguson was wrongfully convicted for the 2001 murder of newspaper sports editor Kent Heitholt. Moriarty said there was lots of physical evidence within the case, but none of it matched Ferguson — so she was stunned when he was convicted.
After covering the case multiple times on CBS, a defense lawyer saw one of her reports and decided to represent him. Ten years later, he was freed.
“When I think of the high points, I think of Ryan Ferguson walking out of prison and all of us standing outside,” Moriarty said. “It’s late at night. It’s dark. I’m with a producer. We’ve been working, you know, for years on this and we are there. Then the next morning, we get to talk about it live on air.”
Moriarty also spoke of the more challenging times that come along with being a journalist, such as covering failed cases or staying unbiased in a world of fake news.
“I would tell my younger self, you’re gonna have a really rough time,” Moriarty said. “That’s the bad news. The good news, it’s never been more important. And you don’t become a journalist or a lawyer to be liked, sadly. You hopefully become a lawyer or a journalist to do the right thing.”
Moriarty emphasized the importance of fostering connections made while writing stories and maintaining contact, especially in an industry where relationships are everything.
On Sept. 30, CBS News broke a story revealing the serial killer from the 1992 Texas Yogurt Shop Murder Case. Moriarty said that since the lead detective on the case told her about it, they were the first to publish the update and it was a big deal.
“I try to stay in touch with people as much as I can,” Moriarty said. “I care about them, and I also don’t want them to think, ‘oh, all I did was just come in to get a story.’ You know, I like these people. If you love people, journalism is the best job.”
Moriarty said that despite all this time passing, she still feels inspired to discover something new with every story. Reflecting on her time at Ohio State, Moriarty feels there was no place better to set her up for success.
“Ohio State prepared me, certainly prepared me to be a lawyer, but also, at the same time, was the best education I could have had to be a journalist,” Moriarty said.
