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With one poster calling out WABC and saying that Bill should've retired into the sunset, and I bet haven't considered: the cost of health insurance. Yes, Bill could be on Medicare, but what you pay on Medicare is dependent on what you earn. I wouldn't be surprised that Disney/ABC accommodated Bill with this special correspondent position so he can continue with Disney's health insurance and Medicare/Medicare Advantage if he has one. Let's not forget that we aren't a country with universal health insurance for everyone and as Bill pointed out, treatment for Alzheimer/Dementia is very, very expensive.

Working idea is to eventually place David at 6 with Liz. Joe to noon with Sandra. Joe and Sandra continue as the evening primary fill-ins.

excellent point. It’s the right thing to do and good on Disney/ABC for being loyal to someone who has been loyal to them.

Meant to say first FEMALE solo 6pm anchor! Sorry! Edited my original post.

9 usually uses 5's logo, even when they have all of the newscasts in a day! I wish they'd do this more often

Channel 5 having issues with live reports and bitrate. Other stations having similar problems but they're very noticeable on 5

that’s great that you’re expressing your opinion. So was I, though, I didn’t feel the need to write a paragraph explaining how expressing opinions works. Back to Bill — he’s not “that bad already”. Watch last week’s newscasts leading up to the announcement. Watch his interview on Good Morning America. Not knowing there’s a health issue, he just comes off at times a guy in his 70s who’s likely nearing retirement and, like anyone in their 70s, not as sharp as they were 10, 20, 30 years ago. “Gracefully gone into the sunset” - think of the message that sends to millions of Americans and their families dealing with this disease. Diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer’s and still feeling great and able to work — doesn’t matter. Just go off into the sunset and give up doing what you love. It’s a great thing Bill is doing and it’s great that ABC is supporting him, in my opinion.

This is absurd. There will come a point he cannot do even that reporting and when it comes, it will end. But having lost multiple family members to the ravages of dementia, I can say with painful first-hand experience that were there someone of a comparable familiarity to Mr. Ritter to those relatives, it might have eased the early pain and fear momentarily. Understanding what's happening and realizing the diagnosis itself is not an immediate sentence to be banished from the world they knew. The immediate isolation while they retain the memories and the ability to communicate is devastating. Reports on Alzheimer's will be hard to watch for many. Hell, I've been through it and they'd be hard for me, triggering painful memories. But it's important that we understand that there is still so much value someone with a disease like that can bring even if their decline is inevitable. While I'm sure ABC, or any network, would love complete overlap between shows, the reality is, especially over weekends, that people are not tuning in to each broadcast and paying the kind of attention folks on board like this do.

His reports will surely be infrequent, his will be a unique perspective, said reports will be scripted with as many takes as needed to record, and if he does appear at the desk for a de-brief, everyone involved, including the viewer, will be aware of the circumstances and be understanding. I really don't get the hate. So what if it's only a year or two? I'm not sure I'd be putting money on many local news staples to be viable beyond that timeline, so why should the expectations for this to be any different? As for the reading of notes, that's being mature and proactive. He knows he's not 100%, so he's doing something that helps him retain info better. Hell, many healthy newscasters that are half his age should be taking more notes, these days. Similarly, folks are within their right to express the opinion that you're coming off as more than a little callous, especially as someone who is almost completely unaffected by this. None of us outside of market #1 are regular WABC viewers, so Bill going on local TV and trying something unique like this isn't going to ruin or make our day. If he, his bosses, co-workers, family, and (die-hard) viewers don't have a problem with this, then it is kind of a you problem.

This is one of those times that explains why live television was invented for... WCBS ready to close out their 11pm news when the Knicks win at the last second in Game 4. KJ, Lonnie, and Allen Devlin react to it all before they go off air.

That looked like nothing was wrong with him. It just shows how in a sudden instant, things could change and could be taken away from us, just like that. Ugh.