[2] A native Philadelphian, Walters began his career with The Associated Press there while still an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania, after 36 months in the U.S. Navy.
Walters has worked in Harrisburg, Philadelphia, New York City, Detroit, and Los Angeles as both reporter and news executive.
He planned, organized and produced coverage of such special events as elections (local, state and national), 1976 United States Bicentennial celebrations in Philadelphia and Valley Forge, the 1976 Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia (a quadrennial international event of the Roman Catholic Church, held in the United States for the first time in 40 years), inauguration of legalized gambling in Atlantic City in 1978, the 1980 papal visit to New York City, and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Walters also directed local news coverage of several major breaking news stories over the years, including the 1972 Pennsylvania floods, the bombing of the U. S. Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, Vietnam protest demonstrations, Watergate hearings, the 1969 Moon Landing, auto industry labor negotiations, the explosion of the Shuttle Challenger in 1986, and many natural disasters such as snowstorms, floods, fires, (including California brush fires), and earthquakes.
In addition to his journalism credentials, Walters is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists[8] and as president of the Philadelphia chapter chaired the organization’s national convention in 1976.