WABC - 7 Eyewitness News

[abc7 Man 46]

9 hours ago, abc7 Man said:

Bill Ritter just announced there is a big announcement being made about the 11pm news.

Mike Marza takes over at 11pm starting Friday night.

Edited March 7 by abc7 Man

[TVNewsLover 774]

14 minutes ago, abc7 Man said:

Mike Marza takes over at 11pm starting Tuesday night.

Would explain why Pedro was in for Mike this morning but did not say he was in for him. 

[Vlad 323]

3 hours ago, TVNewsLover said:

Would explain why Pedro was in for Mike this morning but did not say he was in for him. 

Oh wow so that is the shakeup we were all eluding to for a while! We did all say that this day could come last year! Its an end of an era, and it  a sign of the times. Bill Ritter was and continues to be a staple of Eyewitness News but he will be tremendously missed at the 11pm, I remember when he and Diana were anchoring back in the early 2000s in the years post 9/11 they were setting the stage for greatness it seemed like they wouldve been there forever till Diana stepped down to do exactly what Bill is doing today, to be more present and with family before ultimately leaving the show. I can see him leaving and retiring in 5 more years!

 

 

As for Eyewitness News this Morning well we'll have to see what happens but its a big shakeup. But its a fitting role for Pedro considering his experience in morning TV during his days in LA and Mike is now setting the stage to become WABCs lead anchor as we all expected. Mike's stepping into some huge shoes! 

[RealNews18 203]

I assume they’ll give Mike his announcement in the morning with the team and Pedro there (assuming he’s still the one taking the spot) and I’m sure weekends will be rotating with the typical people (Toni Yates, Chantee Lana, Janice Yu) until an official replacement is hired.

[TheRolyPoly 2362]

Here's the 11:00pm announcement.

 

 

[NowBergen 679]

Looks like WABC's VP of News Scott Matthews is moving on to take on the VP of Newsgathering at MSNBC as it separates itself from NBC News and is looking to hire over 100 correspondents, producers and more.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2025/03/06/msnbc-news-scott-matthews-hiring/

Edited March 7 by NowBergen

[TVNewsLover 774]

I wonder what Mike’s other roles will be in addition to anchoring the 11pm. Will he report from the streets at 4pm, 5pm, and 6pm? Will he sort of be a third “breaking news” anchor on those earlier shows? I’m surprised Bill didn’t step off one of the earlier shows too. 
 

Does anyone understand what Bill says at the 1:19 mark, right before “my brother”?

[RealNews18 203]

3 minutes ago, TVNewsLover said:

I wonder what Mike’s other roles will be in addition to anchoring the 11pm. Will he report from the streets at 4pm, 5pm, and 6pm? Will he sort of be a third “breaking news” anchor on those earlier shows? I’m surprised Bill didn’t step off one of the earlier shows too. 
 

Does anyone understand what Bill says at the 1:19 mark, right before “my brother”?

I was just coming here to say the same thing. I assume that he will be doing some sort of reporting/main fill in. I thought it was originally reported that he would be stepping down from the 5 and 11, staying on the 6, so it's surprising it's just the 11. 

[MisterBill 99]

18 minutes ago, RealNews18 said:

I was just coming here to say the same thing. I assume that he will be doing some sort of reporting/main fill in. I thought it was originally reported that he would be stepping down from the 5 and 11, staying on the 6, so it's surprising it's just the 11. 

 

They should get rid of David Navarro, let Bill do 4 and 5, and put Mike at 6 and 11. But that's not happening. 

[abc7 Man 46]

48 minutes ago, TVNewsLover said:

I wonder what Mike’s other roles will be in addition to anchoring the 11pm. Will he report from the streets at 4pm, 5pm, and 6pm? Will he sort of be a third “breaking news” anchor on those earlier shows? I’m surprised Bill didn’t step off one of the earlier shows too. 
 

Does anyone understand what Bill says at the 1:19 mark, right before “my brother”?

“You got it my brother”

[RealNews18 203]

25 minutes ago, MisterBill said:

 

They should get rid of David Navarro, let Bill do 4 and 5, and put Mike at 6 and 11. But that's not happening. 

If Mike were to do any of the earlier ones I would hope they’d give him the 5 with Sade. Let Bill finish up his time at 6 with Liz. 

[abc7 Man 46]

1 hour ago, RealNews18 said:

If Mike were to do any of the earlier ones I would hope they’d give him the 5 with Sade. Let Bill finish up his time at 6 with Liz. 

Bill Beutel did 6pm only before he fully retired. So follow in the same way.

[MisterBill 99]

2 hours ago, RealNews18 said:

If Mike were to do any of the earlier ones I would hope they’d give him the 5 with Sade. Let Bill finish up his time at 6 with Liz. 

 

Yeah, but he said he wanted to get home for dinner with his family. It's a longer trip now that they're downtown.

[GraphicsMan 109]

I’m kinda sad about him leaving. I know he isn’t gone and probably won’t retire for awhile it sad to see change happen.

[MediaZone4K 2158]

14 hours ago, TheRolyPoly said:

Here's the 11:00pm announcement.

 

 

End of an era. Grew up with Bill and Liz at 6 & 11 with Diana and Sade on After GH & Oprah. It's amazing just how long these anchors last and the rapport they build with the community.

 

I too am surprised Mike is only doing the 11.  Bill will be going out very prominently: anchoring at 5 and 6 as opposed to just 6 which is what a-lot of almost retired senior anchors do.

[RealNews18 203]

Promo for the morning show already had Mike edited out. Only has Shirleen, Brittany, Sam and Heather. No shots of them together. I assume we’ll see new promos anyway for all shows being that all of them show the old studio.

 

I also wonder how much longer Sam will be around, he was very vocal on Instagram and Facebook live the first few days of the “move” and how he no longer lives in NYC (most of the time) and this doubled his commute time. 
 

Also.. I’m thinking Mike will appear on the morning show Monday to give an official “goodbye” to that team and the viewers at that time? Do we know for certain that Pedro will take over? Or is there a chance it will go to someone else? 

Edited March 9 by RealNews18

[MorningNews 1437]

They’re running promos for the new 11pm team with Bill handing the mantle over to Mark. 

[JoseRM303 171]

On 3/7/2025 at 4:49 PM, RealNews18 said:

Promo for the morning show already had Mike edited out. Only has Shirleen, Brittany, Sam and Heather. No shots of them together. I assume we’ll see new promos anyway for all shows being that all of them show the old studio.

 

I also wonder how much longer Sam will be around, he was very vocal on Instagram and Facebook live the first few days of the “move” and how he no longer lives in NYC (most of the time) and this doubled his commute time. 
 

Also.. I’m thinking Mike will appear on the morning show Monday to give an official “goodbye” to that team and the viewers at that time? Do we know for certain that Pedro will take over? Or is there a chance it will go to someone else? 

People are assuming it will be Pedro based on him doing Friday mornings, while Mike does Friday evenings, however Pedro wasn’t part of the new promo (that has Mike edited out) so either they are still looking for who will replace Mike on weekday mornings, or who will replace Pedro on weekend mornings (if Pedro moves to weekday mornings) before making an official announcement.

[TVNewsLover 774]

Unlikely scenario, but I’ve seen it done before. Could Mike continue to anchor the morning newscast as well? If so, Sandra would likely replace him at 10am. 

[wabceyewitness 818]

1 hour ago, TVNewsLover said:

Unlikely scenario, but I’ve seen it done before. Could Mike continue to anchor the morning newscast as well? If so, Sandra would likely replace him at 10am. 

 

No. See above. They’ve removed him from the morning promos already. 

[MorningNews 1437]

4 hours ago, JoseRM303 said:

People are assuming it will be Pedro based on him doing Friday mornings, while Mike does Friday evenings, however Pedro wasn’t part of the new promo (that has Mike edited out) so either they are still looking for who will replace Mike on weekday mornings, or who will replace Pedro on weekend mornings (if Pedro moves to weekday mornings) before making an official announcement.

Fair point. I’ve thought it would be Pedro but he’s still fairly new to the station even though he makes the most sense. 
 

IIRC the initial plans were -

David: mornings

Bill: 4 and 6pm

Mike: 5 and 11pm

 

Doesn’t seem like they’re going that direction (or at least not immediately) plus David is getting up there himself and Joe Torres is a fixture of the weekend evenings. Pedro in the mornings makes a ton of sense for the long-term.

[TheNewsTV 251]

This morning, Janice Yu said that she was replacing Pedro Rivera. So nothing has been made official yet, as people were assuming.

[RealNews18 203]

4 minutes ago, TheNewsTV said:

This morning, Janice Yu said that she was replacing Pedro Rivera. So nothing has been made official yet, as people were assuming.

“Replacing” or “in for” cause there’s a big difference.

 

Who knows maybe we’ll see someone we least expect. Again, I thought they said Mike officially takes over on Tuesday, we may see him tomorrow morning, who knows if an official decision is even made but if it is I guess we’ll find out. 

[wabceyewitness 818]

4 hours ago, TheNewsTV said:

This morning, Janice Yu said that she was replacing Pedro Rivera. So nothing has been made official yet, as people were assuming.

 

she said she filling in for him, not replacing him. 

[abc7 Man 46]

Bill goes to Mike Marza in newsroom at end of the 6pm news (right between sports and WNT) who then gives a preview of stories that will air at 11pm.

Edited March 10 by abc7 Man