Longtime WABC-TV anchor Bill Ritter signs off anchor desk after early stage Alzheimer's diagnosis
Veteran New York City anchor Bill Ritter announced Friday he is stepping away from the anchor desk following an Alzheimer's disease diagnosis.
Ritter, who has anchored the 6 p.m. newscast for ABC New York station WABC since 2001, said Friday's broadcast would be his last at the anchor desk.
He said he has been diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's following a series of tests.
"They say the treatments I'm getting are keeping it at bay, at least for now," Ritter, 76, said during his final anchor broadcast Friday. "But there is no guarantee, because there's no cure yet for Alzheimer's."
Ritter said he plans to continue reporting as often as he can and help others impacted by Alzheimer's.
"This station wants to dig deeper into the rising tide of Alzheimer's, and other similar diseases -- including how it's affecting patients and their families, how the price of treatment and the price of caring for patients is simply unaffordable and how this country might begin to change that," Ritter said.
He said he is deeply familiar with the disease, having lost his father to Alzheimer's in 1998.
WABC general manager Marilu Galvez called Ritter a defining presence at the station.
Ritter joined WABC in 1998 after a journalism career that spanned print, including the Los Angeles Times, and local television in California and network programs at ABC News. He began anchoring the 11 p.m. newscast in 1999, then added the 6 p.m. newscast in 2001. He also anchored the 5 p.m. news for several years.
"I am going to so miss reporting the news to all of you, with the truth and with facts, no matter where they fall," Ritter said. "It has been my honor to do just that. But for now, I wish you health and peace and let's take care of each other."
