Veteran ABC7 anchor Bill Ritter reveals early Alzheimer’s diagnosis and retires from evening news

Veteran New York TV anchor Bill Ritter, 76, announced live on ABC7 over the weekend that he is stepping down immediately from anchoring the station’s main evening newscast after being diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. He made the disclosure in the closing minutes of Eyewitness News, telling viewers, “I want to share with you a very personal message.”

Ritter said he had already adjusted his schedule in recent years to spend more time with family, but that priority has become even more important since his diagnosis. “The treatments are delaying, but there’s no guarantee,” he said, adding that doctors told him he has early Alzheimer’s and that the medications he is taking are slowing its progress, at least for now. “Unless someone finds an amazing cure, and really soon, tonight’s newscast will be the last one I anchor,” he said.

He thanked colleagues in the newsroom and his family, especially his wife Kathleen and their children, saying they were the brave ones. Ritter stressed that he is not leaving broadcasting entirely. He plans to remain active at the station, help younger journalists, and work as a reporter and commentator on special projects. ABC7 is also preparing an in-depth investigative series on the rising toll of Alzheimer’s in the United States, including the financial and emotional burden on families and how the country can respond nationally.

Ritter said the disease has affected him personally for years, noting that his father died of Alzheimer’s in June 1998. “I’m not a stranger to this disease,” he said. He closed by saying he would miss delivering the news with “truth and facts, no matter where they lead,” and wished viewers “health and peace.”