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Bill Ritter was and still is the face of Eyewitness News in the 21st century and there is no questioning that. Downstate New York, northern New Jersey, and southwest Connecticut residents opened the century in 2000 with him, closed the first quarter with him, and have already started the second quarter with himTwo of my aunties have been living there in the New York area (Borough Park, Brooklyn and Copiague, Suffolk County) since the early 1990s, and they have watched Ritter on both the network and local levels through the good and bad times. A lot of people get triggered when he inserts his opinions into the newscast, and their feelings are valid, but a lot of long tenured anchors tend to go off script a bit anyway, so I don’t really make it bother me. I hope his situation improves soon because Alzheimer’s disease is very destructive to one’s health.

I just have to say its a bit heartbreaking and bittersweet to witness this moment. That moment when Bill Ritter decidedly left his post which such honor and dignity. Its a testament to who he is. He seems to be quite a remarkable human outside of the broadcasting space. He is well respected as we saw other outlets like WCBS, and others taking the time to mention this just is a testament to the amazing human he is. Bill has had some tough shoes to fill when his namesake, Bill Beutel left the job to him 27 years ago. He did just that to the best of his ability. He did what he set out to do 27 years ago and now it is time for him to pass this baton along to the new generation as we were eluding to. He gave it his all. Bill is a very special person for New Yorkers. His voice and his personality really was compelling. His reassurance with his warmth and personality, humility and dignity is not something we come across often in this industry and he had no shame in displaying that over the years. It made us feel like everything was going to be okay in the end with his delivery of the story. He is really pure and as wholesome as one can be and had such gravitas which I don't think anyone else has quite just yet its something that takes time to build and he certainly did that during his tenure at WABC. He truly upheld the high standard that his predecessor Bill Beutel (may he continue to rest in peace) passed on to Bill Ritter who he too now is passing on to the next. He's shown his vulnerability to us and is now seated with the other legends that we all knew and love. But for Bill its a little heartbreaking for me to see this because it kinda feels like he departed a little too soon. He certainly had a lot more to give and thats where it feels a bit sad for me. Over the years as a child and to this day as a near middle aged adult. Channel 7 was always on in the background, my parents would turn the channel it was a definitive part of my early life, and to this day I've always been a loyal viewer, the voices of these legends are etched in my memory and will always be forever. I've always knew that I was lucky to witness the professionalism this station continues to uphold the diversity and the professionalism of the individuals that work there it is a snapshot of what New York is at its best the diversity and the melting pot of different backgrounds coming together to deliver a product so profound which is why they continue to be the most watched station in the nation. WABC created a standard that help shaped the rest of this country and possibly the world. It brought me to these forums to have these compelling discussions about how these stations work behind the scenes and I really truly mean that. Bill got us through some of our darkest times the unforgettable 9/11 attacks that changed our world today, the Blackout of 2003, Hurricane Sandy, COVID, these are the stories that shaped our city he delivered them with such grace. It is truly an end of an era as we know it with his departure, sure we will see other anchors and other personalities mold in the coming years but we will never quite see anyone like him again, he will be extraordinarily missed. Im glad he's going to remain with us while he shares his journey with us and hopefully he gets some more years to spend with his family and his beloved people in his life. Thank You Bill!

Awww not Bill. I’m not from New York but remember him as a reporter and anchor at KTTV right here in his hometown of Los Angeles back in the 90s, a great reporter back then. Bill was unique in that he was an Angeleno working in New York. Oftentimes, it’s New Yorkers who move to LA, but Bill anchoring the news in New York, you wouldn’t think he was a guy from the laid back aura of Southern California. He demonstrated poise, compassion, and grit, requirements to succeed in the intense environment of New York City. Alzheimer’s is such an insidious disease, and for him to share this painful news and continue to work to report on it is a testament to his poise, compassion, and grit. I am hopeful his coverage gets national and global attention as he works persistently to raise awareness, empower people with this disease, their families, loved ones, caregivers, and communities working to find a better way. We have not seen the last of Bill.

I could tell that something was off with him the last few months. He seemed a little frail and forgetful. And then when Liz was off they started having subs. Hopefully treatments help and the progression is extremely slow. Curious as to who will succeed him at 6pm. On airtime alone, Sandra would appear to be the choice as she is only on for 1 hour each day, whereas Liz, Sade, and Mike all are on 1.5 hours, and David is on 2 hours. David, however, seems to be the most frequent fill-in. And I wouldn’t rule Mike out either.

He and NBC are 100 this year. RIP!

Longtime WQAD weekend meteorologist Morgan Strackbein is leaving the station after a wonderful seven year run. July 5th is her last day. She's been there so long that WQAD was owned by Tribune when she started, but was being divested to TEGNA. How times can quickly change. https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1395194212430276&id=100058191304613

I think even in this day and age certain local names still carry weight like Chuck Scarborough and Rosanna Scotto, Lori Stokes and even Sade.

And that's a fair point. Amongst all my rambling, the simplicity of my point was, if their presentation and appearance is still intact, let the old anchors work.

Ironically he worked until his mind was going. My point was more that there comes a time when they appear to be past peak and the presentation isn’t what it was. At some point you run the risk of “see you Monday!” Becoming… uh… “Joe Anchor died in his sleep overnight” and it won’t even be all that incredible or surprising. The actuarial tables don’t care if he has ratings or not.

I see this said often. News anchoring is a non-physically taxing job. Anchoring at minimum requires reading off of a teleprompter from what a producer wrote, and occasionally turning a feature story. It's a job perfectly suited for the aging. Unless an elderly news anchor is drawing low ratings, their massive salary is taking away from other talent, or their demeanor on air becomes disheveled due to age, there's no good reason to shelf them because they're a senior citizen. moreover, if the news audience is older, wouldn't they like to see some of themselves reflected in who they watch? On top of that, people love familiar faces which is what contributes to news talent sticking around long. More over we don't know people's personal situation. When someone retires what do they have to do all day? It's working that keeps people's mind going sometimes. It's amazing how much we've talked about Bill Ritter in the recent weeks for the good and the bad. To have this news come out of today is just crazy and ironic. This is so major even WCBS is reporting about it.

It’s unfortunate he’s not gonna get a few years with everything working the way it’s supposed to. 76 is a little old for him to have been still hanging around there if we’re all being honest. That seems to be happening in a lot of businesses these days. I say that as an outsider who watched similar things play out other places.

Here's https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2026/6/11/resurfacing-in-indianapolis version of the story.

This is just terrible. I grew up watching Bill. If Im correct it reminds me of Bill Beutel who had dimentia. My thoughts and prayers to Bill and his family.

No doubt. I'm already talking to my AG.

Even with this, there is no way this deal actually passes this year. The EU review is likely to last into the fall, by which time the multi-state AG lawsuit will probably be filed. We’ve got a long way to go…

I know this was announced over a month ago, but I'm surprised no one made a post on here regarding this. https://deadline.com/2026/05/the-westminster-dog-show-netflix-2027-1236900363/

The Justice Department has signed off on the $110 billion Paramount Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, concluding after an eight-month investigation that the deal is "not likely to result in harm to competition or American consumers." This is really difficult to take that at face value. This merges two of Hollywood's oldest studios, combining CBS, Paramount+, HBO Max, CNN, and a suite of cable channels under one roof controlled by David Ellison, son of Oracle's Larry Ellison and a Trump ally. Over 1,000 entertainment professionals sent an open letter calling this out as further concentrating an already concentrated market. The DOJ reviewed two million documents and heard from extensive third parties. That doesn't scream confidence in the outcome. It screams "we covered ourselves." We must also consider recent actions of Bari Weiss. Ellison installed her as CBS News editor-in-chief, and one of her first major moves was firing multiple "60 Minutes" correspondents at the end of the most recent season. Think about that timing: Weiss purges veteran CBS News talent while the acquisition is still pending DOJ clearance. Whether that was editorial housecleaning, ideological realignment, or a signal to Ellison's allies in Washington is a fair question nobody at DOJ apparently felt like asking. That's the part the "not harmful to competition" framing conveniently sidesteps. Competition in distribution is one thing. What happens to editorial independence when a Trump-aligned owner's hand-picked editor starts cutting staff at a 60-year-old news institution before the ink is even dry is another question entirely. State AGs in California and New York are still investigating. Senator Warren is calling it "terrible news for every American." The EU is reviewing the deal separately over its backing by three Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds: Saudi Arabia's PIF, Abu Dhabi's L'IMAD, and Qatar's QIA. This is not settled. Watch the AG actions. Source: NBC News

https://www.fox32chicago.com/video/fmc-v3kmck5k2i59gtlz

The announcement was cut off on the stream. Here it is in it's entirety:

A sad day today in the Today household... Gene Shalit has passed away. The longtime film critic was 100. He spent 40 years on the program, the first three part-time in 1970 before spending the next 37 years full time before retiring in 2010. https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/gene-shalit-today-show-movie-critic-dies-100-rcna103405

Hopefully she gets a better send off than the one she got at ABC7. Edit: Oops it looks like she did and its posted on YouTube.

This is awful. It had become abundantly clear that Bill’s performance was fading. He’s a legend, I remember enjoying his stint on GMA decades before I moved to NYC. His history of work speaks for itself and it’s admirable that he’s continuing his work at WABC to help the next generation. A lasting legacy in this great city. Thank you for everything Bill.

I saw parts of the 6pm newscast and Liz was on the verge of tears at the beginning of the newscast and right before the last commercial break. This must of happened this week and Bill wanted to say goodbye to the viewers while he still could. It make sense now that Liz has joined him on Up-close and Sandra has filled in for Liz at 6pm for the last few months. I wish Bill the best from Chicago and as he said, hopeful for a cure for Alzheimer's/dementia.

Wow this came sooner than expected. Bill was a household name and while I wasn’t his biggest fan this is still very sad. To compare the “weight” of his name to the earlier anchors I don’t think is fair because times were a little different then, like now you can’t really compare names tho those in the 90s. I wonder if this is why the station decided to starting putting “fill in” anchors at 6. I assume it will be David or Sandra to fill the spot.

RIP Gene and that mustache https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/gene-shalit-today-show-movie-critic-dies-100-rcna103405?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_ma&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwdGRjcASZbedleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEe0awzPJjHOXzJzxEbXPM6mR_SCv_oEZ1_cQit2rNqb6QjabhMn-vxoZ7S6F4_aem_dpYqTp3XSgd-C1lXLUvcaQ