WABC - 7 Eyewitness News

[ns8401 998]

2 hours ago, wabceyewitness said:

Why should they do anything but what he, his employer, his family, and his doctors agree is best for all involved?
 

 

 

That’s got to be a rhetorical question, no? 
 

This board exists for people to express their opinions. What they actually do may not come close to reflecting the opinions expressed here. I was giving my two cents. That’s not a crime. Your post is the sort of comment I could copy and paste as a reply to anyone’s post here in any thread on the entire board and it would work more or less. 

2 hours ago, MorningNews said:

Not sure I get that complaint really. Stepping off the desk was overdue for Bill and that had become obvious to anyone watching. That said the abruptness of his finale was jarring, I mean it was tough watching him on GMA with those notes in his hands. It even seemed at one point the hosts had to guide him back on track. Tough to process that his decline wasn’t just ordinary aging but actually a debilitating cognitive decline.

 

I think it’s perfectly acceptable for him to continue working in some capacity so long as it’s not a distraction to the viewer like his nightly anchoring had become.

 

Especially given the scope of his reduced capacity which will be focused on Alzheimer’s. He’s earned that.

I’m essentially arguing that it’s gonna be very very hard to pull off if he’s that bad off already and it will be very difficult to keep it from being a noticeable distraction. If you turn it around and make it about him but let another reporter or even an anchor report on it it’s a much gentler ride. You also don’t have to deal with things around midstream when he gets too far gone to report. So I disagree with their strategy here. Given the general progression of a cognitive disease like this it probably won’t be a real long running series. Maybe you get a year or two out of it?

Edited 10 hours ago by ns8401

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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 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.

 

1 hour ago, ns8401 said:

This board exists for people to express their opinions. What they actually do may not come close to reflecting the opinions expressed here. I was giving my two cents. That’s not a crime. Your post is the sort of comment I could copy and paste as a reply to anyone’s post here in any thread on the entire board and it would work more or less.

 

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.

[MediaZone4K 2677]

13 hours ago, Vlad said:

Liz Cho is anchoring solo tonight by the way for the 6pm. A teary Liz acknowledged Bill's departure today and she emphasized on how he will move on to a new role of doing reporting on Alzheimers from this point on. So tough to watch.  . At least he will still be there with them for the time being as long as he's able to.

Good to hear about her reaction. Hopefully they or another account posts that video soon.

 

Interesting that they didn't show Bill interacting with his colleagues, or reaction from his colleagues, regarding his announcement after he made it on Friday.

 

It would have been nice to see everybody wish him well after 20+ years of working together. But I respect his decision to close out the broadcast with just him and the viewer personally alone.

 

 

8 hours ago, TVNewsLover said:

Definitely worth mentioning his announcement on the national level, but did the need to mention on GMA Saturday and GMA Monday, as well as WNT Friday and WNT Monday?

I think it's fair. With so many examples of news employers mistreating their employees, it's nice to see an organization respect their talent so much that they take every effort possible to mention his departure.

Edited 3 hours ago by MediaZone4K

[RealNews18 273]

1 minute ago, MediaZone4K said:

Good to hear about her reaction. Hopefully there are another account posts that video soon.

 

interesting that they didn't show Bill interacting with his colleagues, or reaction from his colleagues, regarding his announcement after he made it on Friday.

 

It would have been nice to see everybody wish him well  after 20+ years of working together. But I respect his decision to close out the broadcast with Gist him and the viewer personally alone.

 

 

I think it's fair. With so many examples of how news employers mistreating their employees, it's nice to see an organization respect their talent so much that they take every effort possible to mention his departure.

I was thinking the same thing. Being tht it was recorded I thought they’d go back live to the team but maybe everyone was too emotional.

[FiveNews 487]

Had no idea his farewell announcement was pre-recorded. Makes sense, I guess.

[HanSolo 478]

13 hours ago, ns8401 said:

Ok now that’s a little much. Cue him live in studio saying he works for a different station or is in a different city or is a plumber or something. He should just gracefully be gone into the sunset.

 

If they assigned another reporter to check in with him and did a series of reports in his honor that would make more sense.

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. 

11 hours ago, TVNewsLover said:

Definitely worth mentioning his announcement on the national level, but did the need to mention on GMA Saturday and GMA Monday, as well as WNT Friday and WNT Monday?

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.